Researchers have discovered the finer details of an exoplanet located 437 light years away, taking us one step closer to reaching the goal of studying smaller, Earth-like planets.
Exoplanets are planets outside of our solar system and orbits a star.
Nicknamed “Warm Neptune” for its similarity in mass to our solar system’s Neptune, HAT-P-26b is much closer in composition to Jupiter, associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Exeter David K. Sing told Global News.
“Astronomers have just begun to investigate the atmospheres of these distant Neptune-mass planets, and almost right away, we found an example that goes against the trend in our solar system,” said Hannah Wakeford, a NASA researcher and lead author of the study that was published in the journal Science Friday.
The astronomers did find water vapour on the exoplanet, as well as hydrogen and helium, according to a release.
The researchers said just having successfully gathered data on an exoplanet the size of Neptune is a triumph in itself.
“This is the smallest planet we’ve been able to characterize in depth and actually measure features with high confidence and be able to say something about the planet,” said Sing. “Exoplanets are quite dim and far away so it’s quite a bit of painstaking work to tease out these signals and analyze them.”
But here’s why this news matters. The scientists say this was a huge step forward in getting to understand exoplanets that are similar to Earth.
When asked if this could have implications for studying whether other planets and exoplanets might be able to support human life, Sing said we’re far from making those determinations.
“But we’re headed in that direction,” he said.
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