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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня На испаряющейся планете HD 209458b обнаружена вода http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1221600/eng |
Credit & Copyright: European Space Agency,
Alfred Vidal-Madjar
(Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris,
CNRS),
NASA
Explanation:
Planet HD 209458b is evaporating.
It is so close to its parent star that its heated atmosphere is simply expanding
away into space.
Some astronomers studying this distant planetary system now believe they have detected
water vapor among the gases being liberated.
This controversial claim,
if true, would mark the first instance of planetary water beyond our Solar System,
and indicate anew that life might be sustainable elsewhere in the universe.
HD 209458b is known as a
hot Jupiter
type system because it involves a Jupiter-type planet in a Mercury-type orbit.
Although
spectroscopic
observations from the Hubble Space Telescope
are the basis for the water detection claim,
the planetary system is too small and faint to image.
Therefore, an artist's impression of the HD 209458b system is
shown above.
Research into the atmospheric composition of
HD 209458b and other
extrasolar planets
is continuing.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.