Are extrasolar oceans common throughout the Galaxy?

Abstract

Light and cold extrasolar planets such as OGLE 2005-BLG-390Lb, a 5.5 Earth-mass planet detected via microlensing, could be frequent in the Galaxy according to some preliminary results from microlensing experiments. These planets can be frozen rocky- or ocean-planets, situated beyond the snow line and, therefore, beyond the habitable zone of their system. They can nonetheless host a layer of liquid water, heated by radiogenic energy, underneath an ice shell surface for billions of years, before freezing completely. These results suggest that oceans under ice, like those suspected to be present on icy moons in the Solar system, could be a common feature of cold low-mass extrasolar planets.