Hubble is a carbon dioxide planet finder

William Atkins
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 05:07

Science - Space

The NASA article quotes Eric Smith, who is the HST program scientist at NASA Headquarters (Washington D.C.).

Smith states, “Hubble was conceived primarily for observations of the distant universe, yet it is opening a new era of astrophysics and comparative planetary science. These atmospheric studies will begin to determine the compositions and chemical processes operating on distant worlds orbiting other stars.”

He adds, “The future for this newly opened frontier of science is extremely promising as we expect to discover many more molecules in exoplanet atmospheres."

Mark Swain is one of the team members who discovered carbon dioxide, along with carbon monoxide, in the atmosphere of the planet.

As a research scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, California), Swain and fellow team members used a near-infrared camera and multi-object spectrometer onboard Hubble to analyze the infrared light coming from the planet.

The NASA article states, “Gases in the planet's atmosphere absorb certain wavelengths of light from the planet's hot glowing interior. Swain identified carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The molecules leave a unique spectral fingerprint on the radiation from the planet that reaches Earth. This is the first time a near-infrared emission spectrum has been obtained for an exoplanet.”

Swain states, "The carbon dioxide is the main reason for the excitement because, under the right circumstances, it could have a connection to biological activity as it does on Earth.”

He adds, "The very fact we are able to detect it and estimate its abundance is significant for the long-term effort of characterizing planets to find out what they are made of and if they could be a possible host for life."