Jump to content



Photo

Spitzer Sees Light From Faraway Worlds...


  • Please log in to reply
No replies to this topic

#1 Bob-C

Bob-C

    Member

  • Traders-Talk User
  • 5,316 posts

Posted 21 February 2007 - 06:59 PM

Hi everyone, according to an article from www.redorbit.com entitled "Spitzer Sees Light From Faraway Worlds:"

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured for the first time enough light from planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets, to identify signatures of molecules in their atmospheres. The landmark achievement is a significant step toward being able to detect possible life on rocky exoplanets and comes years before astronomers had anticipated.

"'This is an amazing surprise,'" said Spitzer project scientist Dr. Michael Werner of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "'We had no idea when we designed Spitzer that it would make such a dramatic step in characterizing exoplanets.'"

Spitzer, a space-based infrared telescope, obtained the detailed data, called spectra, for two different gas exoplanets. Called HD 209458b and HD 189733b, these so-called "'hot Jupiters'" are, like Jupiter, made of gas, but orbit much closer to their suns.

The data indicate the two planets are drier and cloudier than predicted. Theorists thought hot Jupiters would have lots of water in their atmospheres, but surprisingly none was found around HD 209458b and HD 189733b. According to astronomers, the water might be present but buried under a thick blanket of high, waterless clouds.

Those clouds might be filled with dust. One of the planets, HD 209458b, showed hints of tiny sand grains, called silicates, in its atmosphere. This could mean the planet's skies are filled with high, dusty clouds unlike anything seen around planets in our own solar system.


Enjoy and have a nice day. :)

Bob-C
Disclaimer: None of my posts are meant to be taken as investment advice or trading advice. Do your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any trades or investments.