New Type of Alien Planet Is a Steamy 'Waterworld'
SPACE.com Staff
Date: 21 February 2012
Scientists have discovered a new type of alien planet — a steamy
waterworld that is larger than Earth but smaller than Uranus.
The standard-bearer for this new class of exoplanet is called GJ 1214b,
which astronomers first discovered in December 2009. New observations by
NASA's _Hubble Space Telescope_
(http://www.space.com/10689-hubble-space-telescope-photos.html) suggest that GJ 1214b is a watery world enshrouded by a
thick, steamy atmosphere.
"GJ 1214b is like no planet we know of," study lead author Zachory Berta
of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., said
in a statement. "A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water."
Adding to the diversity
To date, astronomers have discovered more than 700 planets beyond our
solar system, with about 2,300 more "candidates" awaiting confirmation by
follow-up observations.
