Episode 561: Water Vapor Seen In the Atmosphere Of An Exoplanet. It Might Even Be Rain

We’re learning more and more about extrasolar planets, and for the first time, astronomers have discovered water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. The planet is located in the habitable zone of its star, so this might even be rain. Of course, it’s not all good news, it’s much more massive than Earth, with higher gravity, and is probably bathed in radiation from its red dwarf star. But, it’s a good start in the search for habitable places in the Universe, places where there might be life. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg Support us at: http://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at: http://www.universetoday.com/ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Instagram - https://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com References: https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1916/ https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/sep/11/rocky-super-earth-k2-18b-named-most-habitable-known-world-beyond-solar-system https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.04292 http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/k2-18b/ https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=surface+gravity+calculator&assumption=%7B%22F%22%2C+%22GravitationalAcceleration%22%2C+%22r%22%7D+-%3E%226371.000++2.2+km%22&assumption=%7B%22FS%22%7D+-%3E+%7B%7B%22GravitationalAcceleration%22%2C+%22g%22%7D%7D&assumption=%7B%22F%22%2C+%22GravitationalAcceleration%22%2C+%22M%22%7D+-%3E%225.972%C3%9710%5E24+kg++8%22&assumption=%22FSelect%22+-%3E+%7B%7B%22GravitationalAcceleration%22%7D%7D https://sci.esa.int/web/cosmic-vision/-/59796-esa-s-next-science-mission-to-focus-on-nature-of-exoplanets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRuEh0qhk4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PstUvHlKEg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCTGIxmM-e4