Hubble image archive
Illustrated Cross-section of the Earth and the Exoplanet Kepler-138 d
This is an artist's illustration showing a cross-section of the Earth (left) and the exoplanet Kepler-138 d (right). Like the Earth, this exoplanet has an interior composed of metals and rocks (brown portion), but Kepler-138 d also has a thick layer of high-pressure water in vari...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2022
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2022-048-01gksatfdjsn9srrafpnqpbv1e
This is an artist's illustration showing a cross-section of the Earth (left) and the exoplanet Kepler-138 d (right). Like the Earth, this exoplanet has an interior composed of metals and rocks (brown portion), but Kepler-138 d also has a thick layer of high-pressure water in various forms: supercritical and potentially liquid water deep inside the planet and an extended water vapor envelope (shades of blue) above it. These water layers make up more than 50% of its volume, or a depth of about 1,243 miles (2,000 kilometers). The Earth, in comparison, has a negligible fraction of liquid water with an average ocean depth of less than 2.5 miles (4 kilometers).
Credits
Illustration
Benoit Gougeon (University of Montreal)
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov