Scientists Trapped in Arctic Ice

On this week’s news update…

A distant planet which might support life…

Distant Planet

The scientists drifting with Arctic sea ice…

Drifting with Arctic Ice

And new evidence about the Loch Ness Monster.

Loch Ness Monster

First up… it’s Space Track.

Space Track sting

For the first time, astronomers have identified a planet outside our Solar System which might have the right conditions for living things to survive.

K2-18b

K2-18b, shown here in an artist’s impression, is 650 trillion miles away from Earth.

It was studied using data captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Like Earth, K2-18b has liquid water in its atmosphere and is the right distance from its star—meaning it’s not too hot, nor too cold.

However, it’s too early to say if there really is life on the planet.

When the more powerful James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2021, scientists will use it to detect whether K2-18b’s atmosphere contains gases produced by living things, which could be evidence of life.

Next up…

Scientists are preparing to spend a year on a ship trapped in Arctic sea ice.

The MOSAiC expedition will study how climate change is affecting the Arctic.

MOSAiC

The ship will drift with the sea ice wherever the winds take it, with its crew venturing out to take samples and measurements.

By trapping themselves in the sea ice as it freezes after summer, the MOSAiC team will be able to study the Arctic up-close during winter.

And finally…

Loch Ness, Scotland

People have long been fascinated by the legend of the Loch Ness Monster.

Is it a prehistoric reptile, called a plesiosaur? A huge catfish? Or even an escaped circus elephant?!

Well… probably not.

New research has confirmed that the monster most likely doesn’t exist.

Scientists took 250 water samples from Loch Ness and studied the DNA they contained.

DNA

DNA is a substance found in the cells of living things.

While no evidence of a plesiosaur was found, researchers did find lots of eel DNA.

So it’s just possible that if Nessie is in there, she’s actually a really big eel.

That’s all for this week. We’ll see you next time.