News in Brief Astronomy

Neptune-like worlds could become habitable

Planet transformation can bring water to otherwise dry region

Habitable planet illustration

MINI-NEPTUNES  Habitable planets around cool stars (illustrated) could start off as Neptune-like worlds farther from their suns.

NASA Ames, SETI Institute, JPL-Caltech

By Christopher Crockett

- More than 2 years ago

To create an Earthlike planet, try starting with a world more like Neptune.

A small gas planet that drifts inward from the cold outer reaches of a solar system might transform into a rocky world loaded with water and other riches, researchers report in the January Astrobiology.