Traditional theories about planetary water focus on two possibilities: either water is delivered to planets via comet or asteroid impacts, or planets form further from their stars and gradually migrate inward. However, these theories fall short when explaining the abundance of water found on planets much closer to their stars.<\/p>\n
The new research presents a different explanation. Rather than relying on external delivery, these celestial bodies could be generating their own water through chemical reactions within their rocky cores. The study\u2019s authors found that under extreme pressure and temperature, hydrogen from the sphere\u2019s atmosphere reacts with minerals in the core to produce water. This process occurs deep inside the planet, at the boundary between its rocky core and hydrogen-rich atmosphere.<\/p>\n
The first image ever taken of an exoplanet was published #OTD<\/a> in 2004. It shows a giant planet, called 2M1207b, approximately five times the mass of Jupiter, that is gravitationally bound to a young brown dwarf, approximately 170 light-years from Earth. pic.twitter.com\/luQsaw5ptx<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Beyond Earth (@Andrzej75651576) September 10, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n Lab Breakthroughs: Water on Exoplanets<\/p>\n To understand how this happens, the research team used cutting-edge experiments at the University of Chicago\u2019s Advanced Photon Source synchrotron facility. Using diamond-anvil cells to simulate the intense conditions inside sub-Neptunes<\/a>, they subjected rock samples<\/a> to pressures 10,000 times greater than Earth\u2019s atmospheric pressure and temperatures above 3,000 degrees Kelvin. Under these conditions, the researchers discovered that:<\/p>\n \u201coxygen liberated from the silicate melt reacts with hydrogen, producing an appreciable amount of water up to a few tens of weight per cent, which is much greater than previously predicted.\u201d<\/p>\n These reactions occur far more efficiently under the extreme pressures inside these heavenly bodies than they would in low-pressure conditions. The findings suggest that sub-Neptunes are capable of creating water over billions of years through these internal processes.<\/p>\n If sub-Neptunes can generate their own water, the likelihood of discovering water-rich exoplanets increases significantly. This broadens the potential for identifying worlds that may have the conditions necessary to support life, as water<\/a> is a crucial element for biological processes. The study also implies that sub-Neptunes may not be vastly different from other exoplanet types, but rather represent an early stage in the development of water-rich worlds.<\/p>\n \t\t![\"Laser](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Laser-heating-of-silicate-melts-in-a-hydrogen-setting-using-a-diamond-anvil-cell-1200x622.webp.webp\")
Laser-heating of silicate melts in a hydrogen setting using a diamond anvil cell. Credit: Nature
Shifting the Search for Habitable Planets<\/p>\n