Some exoplanets may be covered in weird water that’s between liquid and gas
Wet, superheated worlds could bridge the divide between rocky and gaseous planets
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/063020_mt_water-worlds_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C579&ssl=1)
Exoplanets between the size of Earth (left) and Neptune (right) are typically thought to be either rocky super-Earths or gaseous mini-Neptunes. Now, simulations suggest some of these planets (illustrated, center) could be rocky planets enveloped in water that’s not quite liquid and not quite gas.
Aldaron/Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 3.0)