Quebec scientists discover water world outside our solar system

A group of Quebec astrophysicists is over the moon about their discovery of a distant ocean world.

LHS 1140 B was first spotted 48 light-years away in 2017, but it took the James Webb space telescope to help scientists determine that the planet is a water world.

"While the planet passes in front of the star, part of the light will pass through the atmosphere, and the chemical signature will get imprinted in that light," said University de Montreal astrophysicist Charles Cadieux, one the lead researchers on an international team.

The planet does not spin on its axis and is likely completely frozen on one side, but scientists believe the ice on the side that faces the star may have melted, leaving a large open ocean of water.

"We analyzed the light that passes through the atmosphere while the planet transits and then we compare this light from the rest of the light from the star that did not pass through the atmosphere and then we can get information on the chemical species inside the atmosphere," said Cadieux.

The discovery would be the first time a stable ocean of water is discovered on an exo-planet outside the solar system.  

With reporting from CTV News Montreal journalist Max Harrold.