Ocean planet facts for kids
An ocean planet (also called a water world or aquaplanet) is a type of terrestrial planet that has a lot of water. This could mean the planet is completely covered by a deep ocean. It might even have ice caps at its poles.
Sometimes, an ocean planet can have an ocean hidden deep below its surface. This is called a subsurface ocean. Ocean planets can also have other types of liquids on them. These might include liquid ammonia, ethane, or even lava.
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Can Life Live on Ocean Planets?
A planet covered in water might seem like a great place for life to exist. However, scientists have some questions about this. Some studies suggest that water worlds might not be very friendly to life.
For example, important elements like phosphorus are needed for DNA. But on an ocean planet, these elements might be hidden deep in rocks at the bottom of the ocean. This would make them hard for life to reach. Other challenges could include parts of the water cycle not working well. Also, there might not be enough oxygen in the air. Even with these challenges, scientists still think life could be possible on some water planets.
Planets That Might Be Ocean Worlds
Scientists have found a few planets that could be ocean worlds. All of these are exoplanets, meaning they orbit stars other than our Sun.
- Kepler-22b: This is a rocky super-Earth. It orbits its star in the habitable zone, where temperatures might be right for liquid water.
- Gliese 1214b: This super-Earth orbits very close to its red dwarf star. Even so, it might have a deep ocean under high pressure from its thick atmosphere.
- Kepler-62e: This rocky planet is similar in size to Earth. It could be a warm and humid planet covered in water.
- TRAPPIST-1: At least one of the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system might be an ocean world. This system has at least seven Earth-sized planets.
Several moons in our own solar system might also have oceans hidden below their surfaces. This would make them "ocean moons." One famous example is Europa, which is one of Jupiter's moons.
Images for kids
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Exoplanets containing water (artist concept; August 17, 2018)
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Artist's illustration of a hypothetical ocean planet with two natural satellites
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Atacama Large Millimeter Array image of HL Tauri, a protoplanetary disk
See also
In Spanish: Planeta océano para niños
