Water Worlds 218 light years away detected

Why in the News?

Two alien planets about 218 light years away from Earth have found a twin in the ocean worlds of Europa and Enceladus- moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn.

Key findings

• The exoplanets, Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 d, are likely water worlds, a feature that scientists have theorised for a long time.
• These twin planets of the same size and mass are more massive than Earth but lighter than ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
• They are different from the planets in our solar system, which is chiefly composed of rocky planets like Earth and gas giants like Jupiter.
• The Kepler- 138 c and d are made up of ingredients lighter than rock (rocky planets like Earth) but heavier than hydrogen or helium (gas-giant planets like Jupiter).
• The new planet takes 38 days to complete an orbit.
• It is in the habitable zone, meaning it is located in an orbit that receives just the right amount of heat from its star to allow water to exist in a liquid form.

Q1) What are exoplanets?

Exoplanets are planets that orbit a star other than the sun.These worlds are far outside our own solar system. Astronomers have confirmed more than 5,000 exoplanets orbiting distant stars.

Source: Down to Earth