Astronomers Discover Potential Habitable Super-Earth LHS1140b with Nitrogen-Rich Atmosphere

TapTechNews July 10th news, astronomers with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, discovered that LHS1140b may be a super-Earth with a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, and the area of ice/water covered on its surface is equivalent to that of the Atlantic Ocean. (Note: The Atlantic Ocean is a very large ocean on Earth.)

The primary criterion for astronomers in searching for habitable planets is to look for water resources. Charles Cadieux, the first author of the relevant paper and a doctoral student from the University of Montreal, said:

Among all the temperate exoplanets known so far, LHS1140b is the best candidate for confirming the existence of liquid water on exoplanets in the future.

This will be an important milestone in the search for potentially habitable exoplanets.

TapTechNews note: LHS1140b orbits a red dwarf star, 48 light-years away from Earth and located in the constellation Cetus. This exoplanet is located within the 'habitable zone' of the host star as described by astronomers. Data obtained by astronomers using the Webb Space Telescope indicates that 10% to 20% of the mass of this exoplanet may be liquid water, which means there is likely to be an ocean.