Astronomers use Hubble to study cloudy exoplanets
Posted: Thu, Jan 2, 2014, 7:45 AM ET (1245 GMT)
Observations by the Hubble Space Telescope have allowed astronomers to determine that two relatively nearby exoplanets likely have cloudy atmospheres. In a pair of papers published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, astronomers reported on Hubble spectral observations of the exoplanets GJ 436b and GJ 1214b as they transited their stars as seen from Earth. The Hubble observations of GJ 436b, a planet similar in size to Neptune but in a closer orbit, were featureless, suggesting it has a high cloud layer blocking observations of the lower atmosphere, or an atmosphere free of hydrogen. Observations of GJ 1214b, a super-Earth, were also featureless, but scientists said they had "definitive evidence of high clouds" because they could rule out the presence of non-hydrogen constituents.
Observations by the Hubble Space Telescope have allowed astronomers to determine that two relatively nearby exoplanets likely have cloudy atmospheres. In a pair of papers published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, astronomers reported on Hubble spectral observations of the exoplanets GJ 436b and GJ 1214b as they transited their stars as seen from Earth. The Hubble observations of GJ 436b, a planet similar in size to Neptune but in a closer orbit, were featureless, suggesting it has a high cloud layer blocking observations of the lower atmosphere, or an atmosphere free of hydrogen. Observations of GJ 1214b, a super-Earth, were also featureless, but scientists said they had "definitive evidence of high clouds" because they could rule out the presence of non-hydrogen constituents.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, February 24
Gilmour Space announces launch window for Australia’s first sovereign orbital rocket
Gilmour Space — 5:11 am ET (1011 GMT) Gilmour Space Sets Mid-March Launch Window
Space and Defense — 5:11 am ET (1011 GMT) Gilmour Space moves company to launch campaign mode
InnovationAus.com — 5:10 am ET (1010 GMT) Gilmour Space’s first rocket launch from Queensland is just weeks away
Startup Daily — 5:10 am ET (1010 GMT) Australia’s first sovereign orbital rocket to take flight
InDaily (Australia) — 5:10 am ET (1010 GMT) |
