• More Blogs
• Observations »
• Bering in Mind »
• Cross-check »
• Extinction Countdown »
• Solar at Home »
• Expeditions »
• Guest Blog »
• Anecdotes from the Archive »

On the heels of the first photographs of planets orbiting other stars comes another first for so-called extrasolar planets: an atmosphere containing carbon dioxide (CO₂). Nature News and Science News report that a forthcoming journal article will detail the discovery of CO₂ around HD 189733 b, a planet roughly equivalent to Jupiter in mass that orbits a star some 63 light-years away.

HD 189733 b, discovered in 2005, has already yielded other exoplanet milestones: it was the first found to host an atmosphere containing methane and was also among the first found to harbor water vapor. All of these discoveries have been made without seeing the planet in the conventional sense: to ascertain a planet's traits, the light spectrum of the parent star is compared with the star's emission as the planet passes in front of it. In the latest finding, the data came from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Although it has now been shown to have many of the signs of life as we know it, HD 189733 b is extremely hot, due to its proximity to its parent star. (Mercury, the planet closest to the sun in our solar system, orbits more than 12 times as far from the sun as HD 189733 b does from its star.) A recent analysis estimated the exoplanet's atmospheric temperature to be roughly 1,950 degrees Fahrenheit (1,065 degrees Celsius).

CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA

6 Comments

1. 1. andand 12:19 PM 11/25/08

   "HD 189733 b is extremely hot, due to its proximity to its parent star."
   
   That can't be right. I thought people were to blame for CO2 and other greenhouse gasses and those anthropomorphic sources that caused planet to have high temperatures. That's what all of the global warming zealots have been saying for years, SciAm being among the most vocal of them.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. agenthucky in reply to andand 01:42 PM 11/25/08

   I believe they are referring to the fact that its close to the sun, much like our mercury or venus.
   
   I guess you can put a spin on anything they say

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. RKcampbell 02:01 PM 11/26/08

   Are you speaking tongue in cheek, or just head in the ...er...sand, andand? Do you really think the temperature of a planet in a tight orbit around its primary is any kind of indictment of the theoretical human causes of global warming? I'm not sure humans are to 'blame' for global warming myself, but come on, your little jibe makes us 'doubters' all look stupid.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. 4. nfiertel 02:23 PM 11/26/08

   carbon dioxide is no sign of life but a sign of oxygen and carbon and that is all...volcanoes on earth pump out carbon dioxide and venus is enveloped in a very dense carbon dioxide atmosphere. One would think that people by now would have a handle on global warming, carbon dioxide and so forth by now if they were in fact actually reading and understanding SciAms articles instead of lining up to criticise with ignorance much of science. I SUPPOSE that being ignorant is not a crime but is certainly is a waste of one's life. All evidence gained in the past decade about global warming is consistent with it being man made.. If you choose not to believe facts..go right ahead. So long as the world accepts this reality and does something about it such as cutting back on carbon emissions, a few ignoramuses will not slow down progress in halting global warming. What is dangerous however is if there are these know nothings in power who choose like the moron lame duck prez to preside over a carbon footprint larger than the rest of the world combined. I am elated to see the new US President has made this issue front and centre. It is about time. I am living in a sub arctic zone that has just broken the record for the hottest November since records were kept here..118 years. There is no snow and hardly any frost. This is disquieting as soon the permafrost will start releasing so much carbon dioxide that the world will go into an uncontrolled heating and it will be too late. This is not a joke and it is not unsubstantiated. If you think the global economic crisis is bad, wait till there is a desert in Iowa and there is no food for half the population. That IS a crisis and it is the fault of every energy user on the planet. Take your head out of the sand and start paying attention to real science and not wishful thinking.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

5. 5. starfish prime 03:31 PM 11/28/08

   In reference to the title of the article, please note that there is only one Solar System, named for our sun "Sol". A better generic term for all others would be "star systems" or "stellar systems".

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

6. 6. candyland 02:25 PM 3/27/09

   I agree with you nfiertel.......though nature does some things on its own, we are to blame for all we face. Due to the lifestyle "statis Quo" we use and abuse more than we ever help. I myself am guilty, as are all others. However, I could be happy living without most modern conviences. The funny thing is that the one time I did'nt have man made power ( and was just fine with out it) someone called child protective sevices on me. Everything turned out fine, but what does that say about people? Do people really think you can't live without these things, has everyone become so compacent that they have forgotten how to do things for themselves? This is a sad time for our world and those who only care about today will rob thier children's children of a beautiful tomorrow!

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this