
-
PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'
-
Late birdie burst lifts Ryder to Texas Open lead
-
Five potential Grand National fairytale endings
-
Trump purges national security team after meeting conspiracist
-
More work for McIlroy even with two wins before Masters
-
Trump hopeful of 'great' PGA-LIV golf merger
-
No.1 Scheffler goes for third Masters crown in four years
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump says 'very close to a deal' on TikTok
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
Postecoglou denies taunting Spurs fans in Chelsea defeat
-
Oscar-winning Palestinian director speaks at UN on Israeli settlements
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Fernandez fires Chelsea into fourth as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
-
South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
E.T., no home: Original model of movie alien doesn't sell at auction
-
Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Italy's Brignone suffers broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Tonali eager to lead Newcastle back into Champions League
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa

Nearby exoplanet could be first known ocean world: Webb telescope
A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope.
More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the "Goldilocks zone" -- neither too hot or too cold -- that could host liquid water, a key ingredient for life.
The exoplanet LHS 1140 b is one of the few in this habitable zone, and has been thoroughly scrutinised since it was first discovered in 2017.
It sits 48 light years from Earth, which equates to more than 450 trillion kilometres (280 trillion miles) -- relatively close in the vast distances of space.
The exoplanet had been thought to be a small gas giant called a "mini-Neptune" with an atmosphere too thick with hydrogen and helium to support alien life.
However, new observations from the Webb telescope have confirmed that the exoplanet is in fact a rocky "super-Earth".
It is 1.7 times bigger than Earth, but has 5.6 times its mass, according to a study published late Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- 'Best bet' for ocean world -
The Webb telescope was able to analyse the planet's atmosphere as it passed in front of its star.
There were no signs of hydrogen or helium, which ruled out that the planet was a mini-Neptune.
The density of the planet indicates that it "actually has large quantities of water," study co-author Martin Turbet of France's CNRS scientific research centre told AFP.
It could be a truly immense amount of water.
All the water in Earth's oceans represent only 0.02 percent of its mass. But 10 to 20 percent of the exoplanet's mass was estimated to be water.
Whether or not this water is in liquid or ice form depends on the planet's atmosphere.
"We do not have direct evidence that it has an atmosphere, but several elements point in that direction," Turbet said.
Lead study author Charles Cadieux, a PhD student at the University of Montreal, said that "of all currently known temperate exoplanets, LHS 1140 b could well be our best bet to one day indirectly confirm liquid water on the surface of an alien world".
One positive is that the planet is gently warmed by its red dwarf star, which is one-fifth the size of the Sun.
The exoplanet's surface temperature should be fairly similar to that on Earth and Mars, Turbet said.
The presence of gasses such as carbon dioxide will play a key role in determining whether the planet is covered in ice or water.
- Bull's-eye ocean -
One possibility is that the surface is mostly ice, but there is a vast liquid ocean where the planet is most exposed to its star's heat.
This ocean could measure about 4,000 kilometres in diameter, around half the surface area of the Atlantic Ocean, modelling suggested.
Or the liquid water could be hidden under a thick shell of ice, like on the moons Ganymede, Enceladus or Europa orbiting around Jupiter and Saturn.
Webb's instrument spotted signs that suggest "the presence of nitrogen," Cadieux said, adding that more research was needed to confirm the finding.
Nitrogen is found everywhere on Earth, and is thought to be another potentially ingredient for life.
The researchers are hoping to get a few more hours of the Webb's telescope's precious time to find out more about LHS 1140 b.
It will take at least a year to confirm whether the exoplanet has an atmosphere, and two or three more to detect the presence of carbon dioxide, the researchers estimated.
F.Bennett--AMWN