{"id":11885,"date":"2015-12-14T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2015-12-14T17:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11885"},"modified":"2015-12-08T22:39:46","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T03:39:46","slug":"esahubble-study-of-10-exo-jupiter-planets-finds-where-the-water-is-hiding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11885","title":{"rendered":"ESA\/Hubble: Study of 10 exo-Jupiter planets finds where the water is hiding"},"content":{"rendered":"

A report from the\u00a0ESA\/Hubble<\/a>\u00a0team:<\/p>\n

Hubble reveals diversity of exoplanet atmospheres<\/a><\/strong>
\nLargest ever comparative study solves missing water mystery<\/em><\/p>\n

Astronomers have used the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope to study the atmospheres of ten hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets in detail, the largest number of such planets ever studied. The team was able to discover why some of these worlds seem to have less water than expected \u2014 a long-standing mystery. The results are published in “Nature”.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This image shows an artist\u2019s impression of the ten hot Jupiter exoplanets studied by David Sing and his colleagues. From top left to 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 images 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 planets are also depicted with a variety of different cloud properties. There is almost no information about the colours of the planets available, with the exception of HD 189733b, which became known as the blue planet (heic1312). 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. The wind patterns shown on these ten planets, which resemble the visible structures on Jupiter, are based on theoretical models. [Annotated image<\/a>]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>To date, astronomers have discovered nearly 2000 planets orbiting other stars. Some of these planets are known as hot Jupiters<\/a> \u2014 hot, gaseous planets with characteristics similar to those of Jupiter. They orbit very close to their stars, making their surface hot, and the planets tricky to study in detail without being overwhelmed by bright starlight.<\/p>\n

Due to this difficulty, Hubble has only explored a handful of hot Jupiters in the past, across a limited wavelength range. These initial studies have found several planets to hold less water than expected (opo1436a<\/a>, opo1354a<\/a>).<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.spacetelescope.org\/static\/archives\/videos\/medium_podcast\/heic1524a.m4v<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

This video shows an artist\u2019s impression of the ten hot Jupiter exoplanets studied by David Sing and his colleagues. From top left to 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…<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Now, an international team of astronomers has tackled the problem by making the largest ever study of hot Jupiters, exploring and comparing ten such planets in a bid to understand their atmospheres [1]<\/a>. Only three of these planetary atmospheres had previously been studied in detail; this new sample forms the largest ever spectroscopic catalogue of exoplanet atmospheres.<\/p>\n

The team used multiple observations from both the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> and NASA\u2019s Spitzer Space Telescope<\/a>. Using the power of both telescopes allowed the team to study the planets, which are of various masses, sizes, and temperatures, across an unprecedented range of wavelengths [2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited to finally \u2018see\u2019 this wide group of planets together, as this is the first time we\u2019ve had sufficient wavelength coverage to be able to compare multiple features from one planet to another,\u201d<\/em> says David Sing of the University of Exeter, UK, lead author of the new paper. \u201cWe found the planetary atmospheres to be much more diverse than we expected.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

All of the planets have a favourable orbit that brings them between their parent star and Earth. As the exoplanet passes in front of its host star, as seen from Earth, some of this starlight travels through the planet\u2019s outer atmosphere. \u201cThe atmosphere leaves its unique fingerprint on the starlight, which we can study when the light reaches us,<\/em>\u201d explains co-author Hannah Wakeford, now at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.<\/p>\n

These fingerprints allowed the team to extract the signatures from various elements and molecules \u2014 including water \u2014 and to distinguish between cloudy and cloud-free exoplanets, a property that could explain the missing water mystery.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s models revealed that, while apparently cloud-free exoplanets showed strong signs of water, the atmospheres of those hot Jupiters with faint water signals also contained clouds and haze \u2014 both of which are known to hide water from view. Mystery solved!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe alternative to this is that planets form in an environment deprived of water \u2014 but this would require us to completely rethink our current theories of how planets are born,\u201d <\/em>explained co-author Jonathan Fortney of the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA. \u201cOur results have ruled out the dry scenario, and strongly suggest that it\u2019s simply clouds hiding the water from prying eyes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The study of exoplanetary atmospheres is currently in its infancy, with only a handful of observations taken so far. Hubble\u2019s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>, will open a new infrared window on the study of exoplanets and their atmospheres.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/h3>\n

<\/a>[1] To date, studies of exoplanet atmospheres have been dominated by a small number of well-studied planets. The team used Hubble and Spitzer observations of two such planets, HD 209458b (heic0303<\/a>, opo0707b<\/a>) and HD 189733b (heic1312<\/a>, heic0720a<\/a>), and used Hubble to observe eight other exoplanets \u2014 WASP-6b, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, WASP-19b, WASP-31b, WASP-39b, HAT-P-1b, HAT-P-12b. These planets have a broad range of physical parameters.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2] The observations spanned from the ultraviolet (0.3 \u03bcm) to the mid-infrared (4.5 \u03bcm).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A report from the\u00a0ESA\/Hubble\u00a0team: Hubble reveals diversity of exoplanet atmospheres Largest ever comparative study solves missing water mystery Astronomers have used the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope to study the atmospheres of ten hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets in detail, the largest number of such planets ever studied. The team was able … Continue reading ESA\/Hubble: Study of 10 exo-Jupiter planets finds where the water is hiding<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-exoplanets"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-35H","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8402,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8402","url_meta":{"origin":11885,"position":0},"title":"Hubble finds three Jupiter sized exoplanets to be surprisingly dry","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Hubble telescope looks at three gas giants, or \"Hot Jupiters\", around distant stars that are similar to our sun and find little sign of water:\u00a0Surprised scientists come up \u2018nearly dry\u2019 in search for water on \u2018hot Jupiter\u2019 planets - The Washington Post Here is the NASA press release: Hubble\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"Planet HD 209458b in the constellation Pegasus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/673xvariable_height\/public\/14-197.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8896,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8896","url_meta":{"origin":11885,"position":1},"title":"Hubble telescope detects water in atmosphere of Neptune-sized exoplanet","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"An announcement from NASA\/ESA Hubble Telescope program: Clear skies on exo-Neptune Smallest exoplanet ever found to have water vapour Astronomers using data from the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Kepler Space Telescope have discovered clear skies and steamy water vapour on a planet outside our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"Artist Illustration of planet HAT-P-11b","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/heic1420a1-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15964,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15964","url_meta":{"origin":11885,"position":2},"title":"Hubble makes first observation of helium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Observations of planets around other stars continue to produce a steady stream of \"firsts\": Hubble Detects Helium in the Atmosphere of an Exoplanet for the First Time Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have detected helium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b. 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