National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: First Exoplanet With CO2 Heats Up Hunt for Other Earths


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

The hot, gassy exoplanet known as HD 189733b orbits close to its host star, as seen in an artist's conception.

In November 2008 astronomers announced the first sign of carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere, a molecule that is associated with life as we know it. But not all planetary scientists are embracing the idea that a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere means habitability.

Image courtesy Spitzer/ESA-C. Carreau