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from the still-less-vapor-than-the-phantom-console dept.
kef writes:
"Water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of exo-planet Tau Boötis b, which was was discovered in 1996 and is just 51 light years away. From the article:
To analyze the atmosphere surrounding Tau Boötis b, scientists looked at its faint glow. Different types of molecules emit different wavelengths of light, resulting in signatures known as spectra that reveal their chemical identity.
Scientists have used spectrographic analyses to find water signatures on other alien planets before, but only when those worlds passed in front of their parent stars. Tau Boötis b does not transit in front of its parent star from our viewpoint on Earth, but Lockwood and colleagues were able to tease out the weak light emitted by the planet using the Near Infrared Echelle Spectrograph (NIRSPEC) at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii."
[ED note: The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal (paywalled), but they are also freely viewable on Arxiv.]
(Score: 4, Informative) by dx3bydt3 on Saturday March 01 2014, @09:23PM
It's hard to believe that exoplanets were first discovered only ~22 years ago. As of now there have been ~1800 found. There's been direct imaging, spectroscopy of their atmospheres using light transmitted from the stars they orbit, and now direct spectral measurements. Some amazing results, especially considering this science is being done at a time when funding is ever dwindling. I can't wait to see the cool stuff the James Webb Space Telescope shows us.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Saturday March 01 2014, @10:10PM
Not that hard for me to believe.
Once you get the right tools, things happen fast and furious.
After all, the WWW was only founded 23 years ago. Prior to that you mostly had email and gopher. On dial up.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.