Water has been found on distant planets. Free Technical Library News

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Water found on distant planets

06.12.2013

The Hubble Space Telescope has detected faint traces of water in the atmospheres of five exoplanets. This gives hope that we will be able to find a copy of the Earth in the depths of space, perhaps even habitable.

Scientists have previously reported the presence of water in the atmospheres of several exoplanets, but the current study, led by L. Drake Deming of the University of Maryland at College Park, is the first to accurately measure and compare the water vapor signatures of multiple worlds. .

Water has been found on five exoplanets: WASP-17b (1000 light years from Earth), HD209458b (150 light years), WASP-12b (871 light years), WASP-19b (815 light years) and XO-1b (560 light years) . The water signatures on these planets are varied, with WASP-17b appearing to have a thick, dense atmosphere, while HD209458b has the most water in its atmosphere. The planets are at a great distance from the Earth, so the discovery of water in their atmosphere is a great achievement.

To detect water, scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope's wide-angle camera to study the absorption of light by the planet's atmosphere. Observations were made in the infrared wavelength range, where it is easiest to detect the signature of water. The characteristics of the signatures, according to scientists, give confidence that there really is water in the atmospheres of 5 exoplanets.

The water signatures were weaker than expected, and scientists suspect that the reason for this is the layer of fog or dust "blanket" that envelops each of the five planets. This fog can reduce the intensity of all signals from the atmosphere, but at the same time it changes the characteristics of the signature of water and provides additional information about the atmosphere of a distant planet.

Unfortunately, all five exoplanets, in the atmosphere of which water vapor was found, are probably uninhabited - these are hot Jupiters, large hot planets where life could hardly have appeared and survived. However, the current study, along with other Hubble observations, suggests that cloudy or hazy atmospheres may be fairly common among hot giant planets. In addition, scientists are improving methods for studying the atmospheres of distant planets, and with the advent of new optical instruments, similar studies of smaller planets, including those similar in mass to the Earth, located in the habitable zone, will become possible.

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