From what it is, to what it could be, to what it could mean for Earth as a planet!
Join me as we explore 8 discoveries about the new planet k2 18 b.
8.
What is Planet K2 18B?
When you look at a name like Planet K2 18B, you can't help but think, "Wow...that's a
really long name...", and yeah, it is, but that's just its scientific name.
A name given to it as a label for easy identification among the thousands of other planets being
discovered every year.
But, when this planet was revealed to the world in September of 2019 (though to be clear
it was found in 2015), this was revealed to be much more than just a planet.
This was a planet that could potentially be a landing spot for humanity in the future.
And not just because it looks good, and that it may be able to support life in potentia,
but rather, two different groups of people have found out that this planet not only has
water.
But, it has water vapor.
One that builds in the atmosphere and is capable of raining down on the planet itself.
I can tell you're excited..., and yes, that's sarcasm.
But that's the thing that makes Planet K2 18B, it's a planet with water vapor, which
up to this point in time was a very rare thing that not a lot of planets have in the right
kind of way.
7.
The Search For Water On Planets When it comes to looking for planets for the
Earth to potentially populate in the future, there are many, MANY qualities that need to
be identified in order to be considered livable on a grand scale.
Think about all that had to be done just to consider Mars a place where we COULD live
in, and that's within our own solar system!
Two of the biggest things is having a planet that is able to have us land on it, meaning
it has land masses and isn't a gas giant of a planet.
Planet K2 18B has that.
Two, it has to have an atmosphere that isn't toxic and potentially (though not a requirement
per se, see: Mars) has oxygen to breathe so we can live on it like we do on Earth.
And of course, we need water.
Water isn't just something we use to take showers and make plants grow, humans need
it too.
We're mad up of mostly water after all and on a colony, we can't rely on artificial liquids
as supply runs would be an issue.
At least until we get replicators like Star Trek, but that's another matter.
To be clear, there ARE planets out there that have water.
We've even found places that are entire water worlds!
Though finding ones that rain regular old water seems to be an extreme rarity.
Which is why many are flipping out about Planet K2 18B.
Because while we have discovered "rain" on other planets, it's usually the kind of rain
that brings down rocks or glass...not water.
Which for the record is bad.
Now before you go and say, "Well it's go rain, let's head to the planet!", there's a lot
that needs to be discovered, including whether we honestly can live there due to the size
of the planet.
6.
Super "Earth" As you know, there are a LOT of planets out
there in the universe, and not all of them are the same size as Earth.
Just in our own solar system we have multiple planets that are many times the size of Earth.
And Jupiter itself is 121 times bigger than Earth.
So where does that put Planet K2 18B?
Well, it's right now measured at about twice the size of Earth.
Which to be fair isn't too bad per se.
As it would be defined as a "Super Earth".
However, there is a catch, the planet is also 8 times as massive as Earth.
Confused.
Size and mass are two different things.
For example, Jupiter may be 121 times bigger than Earth, but it's only over twice as dense
because it's a gas planet.
But Planet K2 18B isn't, it's a full-on Earth-like planet in potentia, and that density could
cause a lot of problems should we try and colonize it.
Why is that?
Well, more mass equals more gravity.
The bigger and more dense a planet is, the more power it exerts on its inhabitants, and
the more we would have to adjust to it.
Kind of like how the moon has 1/6th Earth's gravity.
That's why a lot of people are being cautious about these announcements in regards to the
water vapors.
Because it's cool no doubt, that doesn't mean we can colonize it just like that.
And there are some people who say that it might not be colonizable at all because we
don't know what it's surface is like.
Before we explain what we mean, be sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel
so that you can watch our weekly videos!
5.
Mini-Neptune?
Remember when I said that Planet K2 18B was noted about in 2015?
The reason we didn't hear about it more then was because we had no real information on
it.
And as such, the team that found the planet asked for the Hubble Space Telescope (one
of the coolest toys in the galaxy, just saying) to look at it so that they can get a better
look and see what it's like.
Which they got permission to do.
It took some time though, as the Hubble Space Telescope didn't have time immediately to
look at Planet K2 18B, and in 2016-2018, the timing of Planet K2 18B in regards to its
planet brought forth the best opportunity to observe it.
Which led to the reveal of the water vapor in the planets atmosphere.
Granted, they had to do some hard digging of the evidence presented to make sure it
was indeed water vapor that they found, but they are quite certain that it is that.
Do you notice something missing from this analysis?
That would be the question of, "What is the surface of the planet itself like?"
We honestly don't know, and that's why many scientists are telling people to calm down
about Planet K2 18B.
Because while many are calling it a "Super Earth", many are thinking of it more like
a "Mini-Neptune".
And hopefully you recall that Neptune is a gas giant and completely unihabitable.
Now, granted, we don't know the full extent of what Planet K2 18B is and isn't, and it's
entirely possible that the surface has land masses and oceans for us to live on.
But until that reveal happens, we can only take the announcements of the water vapor
on the planets atmosphere at face value.
Especially since some people think that there is something very dangerous in Planet K2 18B's
atmosphere.
4.
The Presence of Hydrogen If you were to look at the Earth's atmosphere
right now, one thing you would notice is that the gasses that comprise it are NOT solely
oxygen.
In fact, Oxygen has a rather small part in the composition of the atmosphere.
There's Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Argon, and even Hydrogen in the atmosphere.
This combination of components allows us to breath freely without fear of choking.
On Planet K2 18B though?
Early reports show that there's a little too much hydrogen on the planet, further leading
to the belief that this planet is a Mini-Neptune.
Or at least, so believes Alexandra Witze: "The planet is more of a mini-Neptune than
a super-Earth: it's got a thick hydrogen atmosphere and if you want to find the water you'd have
to go ballooning.
But, the work is pushing the limits of understanding these alien worlds and how like (or unlike)
Earth they may be."
Basically, what she's saying is that based on the reports she saw, the water on Planet
K2 18B is in the atmosphere solely and not on the surface, which means obtaining it will
be a major problem.
What's more, hydrogen isn't something you want in heavy doses in an atmosphere.
Earth's atmosphere does have some Hydrogen in it, but a VERY small amount.
About one part per million to be precise.
So it doesn't harm us, and obviously, when you light a match, you don't see a massive
fireball happening.
But, in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere?
Not so much.
That much hydrogen would burn with vigor.
If you don't believe me, look at the Hindenburg Disaster.
That blimp was filled with Hydrogen, and when it sparked somehow, it blew the whole thing
to high heaven.
Not to mention, it's not exactly healthy to breathe in that much hydrogen.
So not unlike Mars, we'd need to have external breathing apparatus to survive.
Not exactly something that screams, "Welcome to the New Earth!"
3.
There Are Two Teams Fighting For Credit On the Discovery
Stepping away from the planet itself for just a little bit, there is actually a little bit
of a war going on in terms of who is getting credit for the water vapor discovery.
Because the data revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope is public domain, and two different
teams have published studies about the water vapor on Planet K2 18B and are wanting credit
for the discovery.
Which sadly is par for the course when it comes to big scientific endeavors like this.
This is kind of odd as the papers that these two teams made were published in two different
places about one day apart from each other.
One team was led by the researcher who asked the Hubble Space Telescope to be used for
studying this planet, and the other team was from the University of London.
And one team even cited the other teams work as a reference point!
That's...odd.
But again, it's par for the course on this.
"In exoplanet science there are a lot of cases where two competing papers on the same topic
are put out simultaneously, but not usually with a PI's data set where the standard practice
is a common courtesy to leave the data analysis and publication for the PI's team," says one
of the team members.
They'll have to deal with this in their own way, but going forward?
It's probably going to be a little mess.
2.
What does Planet K2 18B tells us about the universe?
So when we boil all of this down, what does Planet K2 18B really tell us?
That is the question that many are trying to answer right now, and sadly, the answer
is a bit ambiguous.
Up until this point, it was only in gas giant planets that water vapor had been discovered.
If Planet K2 18B itself (which again has not been proven) is shown to be a non-gas giant
planet, that would mean that there are planets out there capable of rain.
Pure rain.
Which would be a massive boost to our hopes of colonizing other planets.
What's more, it would mean that water very similar to ours on Earth can be made and reproduced
in a very natural way on other planets.
Again, we've found water on other planets, but we don't know what it's like.
Seeing water vapor though gives us a chance at seeing what it will do afterwards, including
how it affects the planet its on merely by its presence.
And yet, there are still mysteries about the planet itself, which is a good and bad thing.
Because these mysteries need to be solved in order to prove that it's a viable planet
for habitation in potentia.
What's more, if the water vapor is the real deal, we need to see how it comes to be on
the planet.
The last thing we would want is a planet full of water vapor that has some nasty side effects.
Never forget, there are many different kinds of rain, including acid rain that we've got
right here on Earth sometimes.
So in truth, we don't know much, but we know enough to say that if Planet K2 18B is a planet
with these capabilities, it's possible there are others out there like it.
1.
Will We Ever Find A New True Earth?
That is the other question, isn't it?
Because that's what everyone who has seen this information is hoping.
That there is another Earth out there, one that we can potentially visit (especially
when we get Warp Engines...) and live on as if it were almost exactly our own Earth.
Granted, there's no way it's 100% the same, but even 90% would be darn good for human
kind.
And many at NASA, SpaceX, and more are working to try and find us the next Earth.
And though it may not seem like it, Planet K2 18B does provide a necessary step in order
to finding the next Earth.
There is pure rain on other planets, which is something we felt we only saw on Earth.
So if we find another planet that has that, and maybe has a better atmosphere and living
areas, it could be the top of our list for places we can go.
There are Earth-like planets out there, some of which are the size of Earth or only a little
bigger, which means the gravity issue isn't there.
But whether we find one close enough to us to go to, and whether it's able to sustain
life long-term is the question.
We don't know if we'll ever find another Earth, but Planet K2 18B gives us hope that there
might just be one out there to our liking.
Thanks for watching!
What did you think about these discoveries from Planet K2 18B?
Do you think this helps change how we view the science of planet searching and what we
can hope to find from other planets?
Do you think this could lead to be discoveries in regards to potential planets we can colonize?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel.