You are happily looking at an artist's conception of an amazing discovery, nothing less than a step toward discovering life on other planets: Hubble has discovered the first organic molecule that's not of our sol-system. The compoud discovered is methane, a integral part of the chemical reactions needed to form life, as we know it. This is taking us further and further along - beam me out there, Scotty.
The discovery was was made on a planet called HD189733b, the size of Jupiter, and only 63 light years from us in a constellation called Vulpecula. Hubbble confirms the existence of water molecules in the planet's atmosphere, a discovery made by Spitzer in 2007. Water in its air.
It's a hot one, about 1700 degress F, too hot for life as we know it (so far!) but what this really means is that chemicals needed for life on earth can more likely be found on other more earth-life planets, somewhere in the galaxy ....
As if we didn't know.
7 comments:
Fascinating stuff. Not surprising...but fascinating.
How cool, glad they got Hubble fixed so it can continue to find amazing things :o)
1700 degrees?
Don't tell Al Gore.
Amazing Cathy - its instinctive to assume that the presence of life is probably not unique to our tiny part of the universe - but now there is the possibility of real scientific evidence to suggest that life elsewhere may actually be possible.
Kate.
There has to be someone out there. *M*
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Sweetie, please come by and grab your award? It's waiting...
Christina
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You are a mine of information. LOVE IT!
Gaz xxxxxx
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