‘Hycean’: a portmanteau of hydrogen and ocean that’s not so far, far away

This new class of planet hoped by scientists to harbour alien life is a hot waterworld. Let's stop Earth turning into one

Astronomers have begun scrutinising a new class of planet that might support alien life: the hycean. This is a portmanteau coinage combining hydrogen" and ocean", since the planets are hot waterworlds with hydrogen-rich atmospheres.

In ancient Greek, Oceanus was the great river encompassing the disc of the Earth, personified as the son of Uranus and Gaia. Hydrogen, meanwhile, is Greek for water-generating", as H indeed is when combined with O₂.