A planet six times more massive than Earth is surrounded by an atmosphere that scientists think contains abundant water, an essential building block for life forms. Researchers using the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii have found evidence that the water is in an ionic, or plasma state.

A planet six times more massive than Earth is surrounded by an atmosphere that scientists think contains abundant water, an essential building block for life forms.
The planet, called Gliese 1214 b is 40 light years away from our solar system.

Because of the high temperature and the density level of the exoplanet, the form of atmospheric water there is not liquid, solid, or vapor like it is on Earth.

Researchers using the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii have found evidence that the water is in an ionic, or plasma state.

Norio Narita from the from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan said: “Although water vapor can exist in the atmosphere, liquid water, namely oceans, would not exist on the surface of this planet. So unfortunately, we do not think this planet would be habitable.”

Gliese 1214 b was first spotted by the MEarth Project and was later confirmed by the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher in Chile that is used by the European Space Agency.

Scientists are able to determine the planet’s make-up by how much light is scattered when it moves in front of its star.