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Thursday, July 19, 2007

WATER in GIANT EXOPLANETS.

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt3L71uI4nc


Although some astronomers think that results are consequence of instrumental faults, Giovanna Tinnetti and colleagues (UCLA, Institute d'Astrophysique of Paris, ESA, University College London), said they have obtained the most convincing test of presence of water steam in the atmosphere of a hot planet: HD 189733b (giant planet, orbiting very close around its star -in this case- To = 930 oC, by day/427 oC at night, located in the Constellation of Vulpecula, to 64 years light of our Solar System). The news has 2 commentaries from us: 1) Sean Carey, coauthor of the study (published in Nature), says that previously they had developed spectrographic fingerprints of the atmosphere of several exoplanets, with help of NASA's Spitzer Spatial Infrared Telescope, obtaining almost always a vertical isothermal profile in hot planets. Also, Jonathan Tensión and colleagues developed models and formulas to signal water presence in the spectral analysis. Tinetti and colleagues who study atmospheric signatures, have more than 500 000 individual data of absorption of light, with which they calculated the basic parameters of absorption for temperature and atmospheric water. The researchers concentrated themselves in certain dark areas (of the atmosphere of the hot planet), while it journeyed nearly its star. The variations of the effective radius of the hot planet, dependent of different wavelengths (3,6 ms - 5,8 ms and 8, 5 ms), were interpreted as secondary to water steam presence in the atmosphere of the hot planet. In these cases, the effective radius of the planet shines but great to wavelengths compatible with atmospheric water presence. Now it is said that water steam is common in: Jupiter, Saturn, Urano and Neptune, with which the possibility of extrasolar life is not dead.


2) On the other side impress us, the quality of data caught by the Spitzer, that cooled cryogenically (5.5 K), follows an heliocentric orbit, persecuting the Earth, with which is possible to study the most distant objects of universe. The Spitzer weighs 950 kgs, stores 360 liters of liquid Helium, measures 0,85 m and reads images of between 3 to 180 microns. Sent in August of the 2003, it has an average life of 5 years. With some angular limitations the Spitzer is able to provide a great instantaneous vista of the sky. Their mirrors and structures of support, are made almost in their totality of Beryllium. 3) The third thing is the maximization of the potential of the human eye, expanded every time at incommensurable levels. From the initial inverted natural images rearranged in our brain, one has gone to do without this sense, replacing it with thermal, luminance, chemical, physical perceptions, interpretations of oscillations of wavelengths, etc –like in this case- or others, that in the end provide similar perceptions to the human eye. Although at the end, the impressive thing is the use of the logic, statistic, valuation of evidences collected by our humble brains, etc., to make the respective correlations and the final interpretation.

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