Alien oceans could be detected by telescopes

Detecting water on Earth-like planets offers the tantalising prospect they could sustain life. Scientists hope the reflection of light, or “glint’, from mirror-like ocean surfaces could be picked up by the telescope.

Tyler Robinson, at the University of Washington in Seattle, is hoping this new technique could be used in the quest to find a possible sister to planet Earth.

“We’re focusing on a class of extra-solar planets yet to be detected, so things comparable in size and composition to the Earth and similar distances from their central star as the Earth is from the Sun,” Robinson said.

“The goal is to find something Earth-like in almost every sense of the world so we can even prove it has liquid oceans on its surface.”