Water found on exoplanet

Studies conducted by a group of scientists under the leadership of Giovanni Tinneti from the Paris Institute of Astrophysics (France) using the Spitzer space telescope made it possible to detect water vapor in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. However, the average temperature on this planet excludes the possibility of life on it.


The planet with the designation HD 189733b, belongs to the class "Hot Jupiter". It is a gas giant and is located in the Chanterelle constellation 63 light years from Earth. The period of its revolution around its star is approximately two terrestrial days. Previously taken temperature measurements on HD 189733b showed that its average value reaches 1000 K.
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Earlier, signs of the presence of water were found on the planet HD 209458b, the analysis of the composition of the atmosphere which was carried out in the visible range using the Hubble Space Telescope during the passage of the planet in front of a star. Tinetti and her colleagues found the best evidence of the presence of water in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, watching the passage of HD 189733b in front of its star in the infrared.

Due to this, scientists were able to measure differences in the infrared spectrum of a star as it passes through the planet. As a result of observations in three ranges of the IR spectrum, it was found that each frequency corresponds to a different amount of light absorbed by the planet. According to Tinetti, the presence of water molecules is the only explanation for the observed absorption pattern.

The water on HD 189733b is heated to too high a temperature to form clouds. Nevertheless, previous observations of this planet from the Spitzer telescope, as well as from other space and ground-based observatories, showed that on its day side there can be moist clouds with stronger winds and temperatures than at night. In the future, astronomers hope to use the Spitzer telescope to search for water on exoplanets with a solid surface, the official NASA website reports.

Source: science.compulenta.ru/325746/?r1=yandex&r2=news