Post by Udeze Nestor (@Nesmoore1)

Meet LHS 1140b: The “Cosmic Eyeball” PlanetOne of the most intriguing exoplanets discovered so far, LHS 1140b is a super-Earth roughly 1.7 times the size of Earth and about 5.6 times as massive, located just 48 light-years away in the constellation Cetus. It orbits a cool red dwarf star in the star’s habitable zone, receiving about 43% of the energy Earth gets from the Sun.Because it is likely tidally locked (always showing the same face to its star), this world could have a truly bizarre appearance:The “Iris”: A massive, temperate liquid water ocean on the dayside (potentially thousands of kilometers across, with surface temperatures around a comfortable ~20°C / 68°F).
The “Sclera”: The rest of the planet covered in a vast, frozen icy crust.
The Host Star: A dim red dwarf that provides just enough heat to keep that central ocean from freezing solid.

Recent JWST observations suggest it may have a secondary atmosphere (possibly nitrogen-rich), supporting the idea of a water world with a thick ice shell and a persistent liquid ocean on the star-facing side. This makes LHS 1140b one of the strongest “eyeball planet” candidates known — and one of the most promising nearby targets in the search for habitable worlds and potential signs of life.

A frozen world with a glowing liquid heart staring back at its star — straight out of science fiction, yet very much real science. Future observations with JWST could tell us even more about its atmosphere and surface conditions

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