Planets contain more water than thought

Most of a planet’s water is generally not on its surface but hidden deep in its interior. This affects the potential habitability of distant worlds, as shown by model calculations of researchers at ETH Zurich and Princeton University.

Magma ocean planet in dark space.
Magma ocean planets that contain water – like the earthlike exoplanet GJ 1214 b in this artist’s concept – will only host a tiny fraction of this water on their surface. The majority of it is stored deep in their interiors. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt)

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