--- title: "Astronomers Discover Apparent “Ocean Planet” 100 Light-Years From Earth" description: "An international team of astronomers have announced the discovery of a \"ocean planet\" exoplanet orbiting a star some 100 light-years from Earth." date: "2022-08-24" modified: "2022-08-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-ocean-planet-near-earth" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "exoplanet" - "the digest" - "water" --- # Astronomers Discover Apparent “Ocean Planet” 100 Light-Years From Earth ![An international team of astronomers have announced the discovery of a "ocean planet" exoplanet orbiting a star some 100 light-years from Earth.]() *\Image: Benoit Gougeon/Université de Montréal\* ## Ocean Planet An international team of astronomers [have announced]() the discovery of a potential "ocean planet" exoplanet orbiting a star in a binary system just 100 light-years from Earth — a tantalizing new target that, if confirmed, could be a tantalizing new target in the search for alien life. The exoplanet, dubbed TOI-1452b, is a little bit bigger in both size and mass compared to Earth, and also happens to be in the "habitable zone," meaning it's in the goldilocks region of its host star system where liquid water could exist on its surface. "TOI-1452 b is one of the best candidates for an ocean planet that we have found to date," said Charles Cadieux, lead author and PhD student at the Université de Montréal, in [a statement](). "Its radius and mass suggest a much lower density than what one would expect for a planet that is basically made up of metal and rock, like Earth." ## Water World The planet is suspected to be rocky like Earth, but far wetter. According to the team's analysis, it could be made up of 30 percent water by mass, which is considerably more than the Earth's less than one percent. The team spotted clues of the exoplanet's existence in data collected by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space telescope. They then honed in on their target using an instrument attached to the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic (OMM), an observatory in Quebec, Canada, as detailed in their [new paper](). The researchers are now hoping to get ahold of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which could prove to "be essential to better understanding TOI-1452 b," according to René Doyon, Université de Montréal professor and co-author. "As soon as we can, we will book time on Webb to observe this strange and wonderful world," he added. **READ MORE:** [An extrasolar world covered in water?]() \[University of Montreal\] **More on exoplanets:** *[Researchers Want to Use the Sun As a Giant Telescope to Look for Aliens]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()