The ocean is one hundred light-years away in the universe.
The planet TOI 1452 b lies in a region of the solar system where liquid water could be found. The planet's lower density is due to the fact that it has a lot of water. The results of a group of scientists were published in a journal.
"Toi 1452 b is one of the best candidates for an ocean planet that we have found to date," said Charles Cadieux, an astronomer at the Université de Montréal.
An artist's representation of the ocean on exoplanet TOI-1452 b. Credit: Benoit Gougeon / Université de Montréal
The NASA space telescope TESS detected a potential water world when it passed in front of one of the stars. The astronomer was able to see a dip in the star's brightness. The planet's mass and characteristics were estimated by 50 hours of follow-up observations.
The ocean could be deep if TOI 1452 b were shown to be an ocean world. 30 percent of TOI 1452 b's mass could be made up of the ocean. Water is a small part of the planetary mass.
The research shows that TOI 1452 b is compelling to investigate. Astronomers have a telescope that searches for exoplanets in the stars. It has instruments that can peer into the atmosphere of exoplanets to see what they are made of. Our understanding of exoplanets is expected to be greatly improved by the powerful instrument.
"We have only been able to barely scratch the surface of the planets," said Néstor Espinoza, a researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute.
The telescope can easily see TOI 1452 b in part of the sky. According to NASA, "planet TOI 1452 b is perfectly positioned for further investigation by the James Webb Space Telescope, now delivering science observations from its perch about a million miles from Earth."
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