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Sometimes, astronomers can't help themselves. A @umontreal_news press release says 'water detected on an exoplanet in the habitable zone...a a major discovery in the search of alien life'. Except it isn't. It really isn't.
@uMontreal_news If you read the paper (arxiv.org/abs/1909.04642) you find a fascinating description of a planet unlike any in our Solar System. It's more like a mini-Neptune than anything Earth like - though warm. Sort of like a cross between Venus and Neptune.
What's frustrating is that this is a fascinating, interesting result. Imagine what such a world would be like! And now it's going to leak slowly into the public as something to do with 'aliens' and 'life'. #itsneveraliens
I normally defend publicity-seeking scientists and institutions - it's part of the job, after all! But this release stinks: nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/201…
The @uclnews release is much better (ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/sep/…) but still uses ‘water on’ which to the non expert sounds like lakes etc not atmospheric features.
