Relevance: Prelims: Current Affairs
Astronomers have for the first time discovered water vapour in the atmosphere of a distant planet called K2-18b.
Key highlights
- Astronomers at the University College London used data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to make the discovery. They published
their findings in the journal Nature Astronomy. - It is the first time that they have detected water on a planet in the habitable zone around a star where the temperature is
potentially compatible with the presence of life. - K2-18b has an atmosphere and it has water in it, thus making it the only exoplanet known to have both water and temperatures that could support life.