. 24/7 Space News .
EXO WORLDS
Exoplanets Water Mystery Solved
by Staff Writers
Baltimore MD (SPX) Dec 16, 2015


This image shows an artist's impression of the 10 hot Jupiter exoplanets studied by astronomer David Sing and his colleagues using the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. From top left to lower left, these planets are WASP-12b, WASP-6b, WASP-31b, WASP-39b, HD 189733b, HAT-P-12b, WASP-17b, WASP-19b, HAT-P-1b and HD 209458b. The colors of the planets are for illustration purposes only. There is little scientific data on color with the exception of HD 189733b, which became known as the "blue planet." The planets are also depicted with a variety of different cloud properties. The wind patterns shown on these 10 planets, which resemble the visible structures on Jupiter, are based on theoretical models. The illustrations are to scale with each other. HAT-P-12b, the smallest of them, is approximately the size of Jupiter, while WASP-17b, the largest planet in the sample, is almost twice the size. The hottest planets within the sample are portrayed with a glowing night side. This effect is strongest on WASP-12b, the hottest exoplanet in the sample, but also visible on WASP-19b and WASP-17b. It is also known that several of the planets exhibit strong Rayleigh scattering. This effect causes the blue hue of the daytime sky and the reddening of the sun at sunset on Earth. It is also visible as a blue edge on the planets WASP-6b, HD 189733b, HAT-P-12b, and HD 209458b. Image courtesy NASA and ESA.

A survey of 10 hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets conducted with NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes has led a team to solve a long-standing mystery - why some of these worlds seem to have less water than expected. The findings offer new insights into the wide range of planetary atmospheres in our galaxy and how planets are assembled.

Of the nearly 2,000 planets confirmed to be orbiting other stars, a subset are gaseous planets with characteristics similar to those of Jupiter but that orbit very close to their stars, making them blistering hot.

Their close proximity to the star makes them difficult to observe in the glare of starlight. Due to this difficulty, Hubble has only explored a handful of hot Jupiters in the past. These initial studies have found several planets to hold less water than predicted by atmospheric models.

The international team of astronomers has tackled the problem by making the largest-ever spectroscopic catalog of exoplanet atmospheres. All of the planets in the catalog follow orbits oriented so the planet passes in front of their parent star, as seen from Earth.

During this so-called transit, some of the starlight travels through the planet's outer atmosphere. "The atmosphere leaves its unique fingerprint on the starlight, which we can study when the light reaches us," explained co-author Hannah Wakeford of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

By combining data from NASA's Hubble and Spitzer Space telescopes, the team was able to attain a broad spectrum of light covering wavelengths from the optical to infrared. The difference in planetary radius as measured between visible and infrared wavelengths was used to indicate the type of planetary atmosphere being observed for each planet in the sample, whether hazy or clear.

A cloudy planet will appear larger in visible light than at infrared wavelengths, which penetrate deeper into the atmosphere. It was this comparison that allowed the team to find a correlation between hazy or cloudy atmospheres and faint water detection.

"I'm really excited to finally see the data from this wide group of planets together, as this is the first time we've had sufficient wavelength coverage to compare multiple features from one planet to another," said David Sing of the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, lead author of the paper. "We found the planetary atmospheres to be much more diverse than we expected."

"Our results suggest it's simply clouds hiding the water from prying eyes, and therefore rule out dry hot Jupiters," explained co-author Jonathan Fortney of the University of California, Santa Cruz. "The alternative theory to this is that planets form in an environment deprived of water, but this would require us to completely rethink our current theories of how planets are born."

The results are being published in the British science journal Nature. The study of exoplanetary atmospheres is currently in its infancy. Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, will open a new infrared window on the study of exoplanets and their atmospheres.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Hubble
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
EXO WORLDS
Mystery of missing exoplanet water solved
Exeter UK (SPX) Dec 15, 2015
Astronomers from the University of Exeter have helped shed light on the atmospheres of a group of planets which orbit stars outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Exeter academics led an international team of experts in analyzing observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. Their combined power gave a detailed study of the atmospheres ... read more


EXO WORLDS
XPRIZE verifies moon express launch contract, kicking off new space race

Gaia's sensors scan a lunar transit

SwRI scientists explain why moon rocks contain fewer volatiles than Earth's

All-female Russian crew starts Moon mission test

EXO WORLDS
Study finds evidence for more recent clay formation on Mars

New Mars rover findings revealed at American Geophysical Union Conference

Opportunity performs a week of robotic arm at Marathon Valley

Rocks Rich in Silica Present Puzzles for Mars Rover Team

EXO WORLDS
Researchers Recall Work on First Rendezvous in Space

NASA Accepting Applications for Future Explorers

China drives global patent applications to new high

Australia seeks 'ideas boom' with tax breaks, visa boosts

EXO WORLDS
Agreement with Chinese Space Tech Lab Will Advance Exploration Goals

China launches new communication satellite

China's indigenous SatNav performing well after tests

China launches Yaogan-29 remote sensing satellite

EXO WORLDS
British astronaut docks with ISS as country cheers debut trip

NASA spacewalk to fix ISS rail car

Unscheduled spacewalk likely on Monday

First Briton to travel to ISS blasts off into space

EXO WORLDS
Scientists Launch NASA Rocket into "Speed Bumps" Above Norway

NASA orders second Boeing Crew Mission to ISS

O3b signs agreement with Arianespace for a fourth Soyuz launch

Soyuz receives the Galileo payload for its December 17 liftoff

EXO WORLDS
Monster planet is 'dancing with the stars'

Exoplanets Water Mystery Solved

Nearby star hosts closest alien planet in the 'habitable zone'

ALMA reveals planetary construction sites

EXO WORLDS
Physics of slow microscopic changes in magnetic structures revealed

New metamaterial manipulates sound to improve acoustic imaging

Satellite's Last Days Improve Orbital Decay Predictions

Israel's Amos-5 Satellite Failure Caused by Power Supply Malfunction









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.