From the article:
(BBC News) A new class of planet whose mass is largely composed of water has been discovered. Exoplanet GJ 1214b has a diameter 2.7 times that of the Earth and weighs approximately seven times as much. It orbits a red dwarf star at a distance of about 200 million km, about the same distance as Mars’ closest approach to our sun. Estimated surface temperatures are about 200°C, or double the boiling point of water on Earth’s surface, but it’s thought that the high pressures on the planet cause water to exist in exotic forms like “hot ice.” First discovered by ground-based telescopes in 2009 and later studied by the Hubble Space Telescope, it’s a “likely candidate” for further study when the James Webb Space Telescope launches later this decade, which will lend more insight into its composition.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
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I watch Downton Abbey every week with “Dr. Berta” (he’s actually a grad student in my department too). I guess he counts...
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