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Hubble finds first organic molecule on extrasolar planet

19 March 2008

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The extrasolar planet HD 189733b transiting its parent star (artist's impression).

Credits: ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

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Artist’s impression of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b

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Artist’s impression of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b, now known to have methane and water. Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to detect methane — the first organic molecule found on an extrasolar planet. Hubble also confirmed the presence of water vapour in the Jupiter-size planet’s atmosphere, a discovery made in 2007 with the help of the Spitzer Space Telescope. They made the finding by studying how light from the host star filters through the planet’s atmosphere.

Credits: ESA/ NASA/ UCL (G. Tinetti)

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This is an animation showing the the Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet HD 189733b and its parent star.

Credits: ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

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A wide field image of the region of sky in which HD 189733b is located. In this image we can see the asterism of the "Summer Triangle" a giant triangle in the sky composed of the three bright stars Vega (top left), Altair (lower middle) and Deneb (far left). HD 189733b is orbiting a star very close to the centre of the triangle.

Credits: A. Fujii

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Wide-field view of HD 189733b and surroundings (DSS2 excerpt)

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A wide star field image of the region around HD 189733b. The star HD 189733 is located in the centre, just to the left of the planetary nebula Messier 27. The field-of-view is approximately 2.7 x 2.8 degrees.

Credits: NASA/ ESA/ Digitized Sky Survey 2, Acknowledgement: ESA/Hubble (Davide De Martin)

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