In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope found water vapor on a small exoplanet. GJ9827d, which is approximately twice Earth’s diameter, has the potential of being a planet with water-rich atmospheres, reported NASA.
NASA Found Water Vapours In Outer Space Planet
Björn Benneke of the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets at Université de Montréal, told NASA, “This would be the first time that we can directly show through atmospheric detection, that these planets with water-rich atmospheres can exist around other stars. This is an important step toward determining the prevalence and diversity of atmospheres on rocky planets.”
Possibilities Of Exoplanet
According to NASA, as of right now, the team has two possibilities.
- One possibility is that the planet is still clinging to a water-laced, hydrogen-rich atmosphere. Alternatively, it might be a warmer Europa, the moon of Jupiter, whose crust has twice as much water as Earth.
- At 800 degrees Fahrenheit, the planet is as hot as Venus, thus if the atmosphere consisted mostly of water vapour, it would undoubtedly be an inhospitable and steamy place.
Astronomers Are Unsure About Planet
While the astronomers’ findings are impressive, they are unsure of whether the planet’s atmosphere is primarily composed of water, left over from a primeval hydrogen/helium atmosphere, or whether Hubble spectroscopically measured a small amount of water vapour in a puffy hydrogen-rich atmosphere.