Scientists have discovered two strange water planets 25 light years from the sun

• Both planets consist almost entirely of water.

• Half of the planets must be made of something lighter than rock and heavier than hydrogen;

• The planets are probably so hot that water instantly turns into steam.

Researchers I found two planets which is composed almost entirely of water, with a composition very different from anything seen in our solar system. This is the first time that astronomers have observed objects of this size that can be safely identified as water worlds.

said Bjorn Beneke, one of the study’s scientists and professor of astrophysics at the University of Montreal.

“However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138c and ed, are very different in nature: it is likely that much of their entire volume is composed of water. It is the first time that we have observed planets that can be reliably identified as water worlds. , a type of planet that astronomers have long assumed existed.

Scientists haven’t directly detected water, and that’s still a long way off over such a long distance. But research has shown that up to half of the planet must be made of something lighter than rock and heavier than hydrogen – and the most likely candidate for that material is water.

The two planets orbit the star Kepler-138, which is in the constellation Lyra. They have three times the volume of Earth and twice the mass – but they are much less dense than our planet.

Scientists warn that water worlds look nothing like the classic planet we might imagine, with a surface that mostly resembles Earth’s oceans. Instead, the planets are likely to be so hot that water instantly turns to vapor, creating a thick, dense atmosphere that can hide liquid water.

The planets also lie outside the habitable zone, as they are too hot for liquid water and likely uninhabitable. But new research also finds an additional planet in the system, known as Kepler-138e – located in the habitable zone.