Orbiter Finds Evidence of Far-off Water Vapor
On a planet that is 63 light years from the Earth, scientists say they have discovered water vapor in the atmosphere.
On Hot Jupiter the temperatures exceed 900 degrees Celsius. Scientists are saying that the discovery of water vapor in the atmosphere may help to find another planet that can support life. The findings of CO2 on the same planet of Hot Jupiter has also been reported by the United States Space Agency, also known as NASA.
Hot Jupiter is called just that because this planet resembles the atmosphere of Jupiter with its gaseous atmosphere and extremely hot center. Due to the core being so extremely hot the scientists were able to discover why the water vapor was found in its atmosphere. The gases on the planets surface affect the heat radiation by modifying the wavelengths from the heat that in turn can be picked up by telescopes like the Hubble and the Sun-orbiting Spitzer. The Sun-orbiting Spitzer was actually used in this study of the water vapors that were found.
As each gas has a different wavelength, the type of gas it is can be determined by the radiation spread that it produces when it reaches the telescopes.
Being that the planet is extremely far away it is more difficult to see how much of this radiation that the telescopes can pick up is directly from the planet or from the other stars that the planet is orbiting around. Scientists say that the way they figured this out is because they know that at certain times the light is only coming from the stars since the planet itself is not visible at all times.
Scientists had looked before for the presence of water vapor and were disappointed when they could not detect any. They were not t sure as to why but after watching the planet for a substantial period of time they were finally able to find what they knew to be there all along. They suggest that because of the proximity of the planet to its star that the atmosphere of the planet is continuously changing. It has been suggested that due to cloud coverage of the planet that are produced because its star covers half the planet as it is orbiting, that the water vapor was hidden.
The method used in this study will be used in future studies for other planets in the hopes of finding one that can be a possible candidate to support life. The Hot Jupiter planet, even though CO2 was discovered, is just too hot for life to attempt survival.
I hope they find life in my lifetime…would be so exciting