Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around GJ 1132b, a low-mass super-Earth, whose radius and mass are close to Earth’s radius and mass (1.4 Earth radii, 1.6 Earth masses).
This study was carried out by a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) the Keele University. The observations were coordinated by Luigi Mancini, formerly of MPIA and now working at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. The team used 2.2-m ESO/MPG telescope in Chile to capture pictures of the GJ 1132b as well as its host star—GJ 1132—and were able to detect a slight decrease in the brightness of GJ 1132b when it passed directly in front of the host star. According to the team, planet’s atmosphere absorbed some of the starlight when the planet was passing directly in front of the host star.
“While this is not the detection of life on another planet, it’s an important step in the right direction,” said, Keele University’s Dr John Southworth, who led the team making the discovery.
“The detection of an atmosphere around the super-Earth GJ 1132b marks the first time that an atmosphere has been detected around an Earth-like planet other than Earth itself,” Dr Southworth said.
“With this research, we have taken the first tentative step into studying the atmospheres of smaller, Earth-like, planets.”
“We simulated a range of possible atmospheres for this planet, finding that those rich in water and/or methane would explain the observations of GJ 1132b.”
GJ 1132 is a red dwarf star in the southern constellation Vela. This star is located about 39 light-years from Earth.
ESO/MPG telescope was used to observe GJ 1132b in seven different wavelength bands simultaneously.
“The planet is significantly hotter and a bit larger than Earth, so one possibility is that it is a ‘water world’ with an atmosphere of hot steam.”
“The discovery of this atmosphere is encouraging.”
“The properties of GJ 1132b show that an atmosphere can endure this for billions of years without being destroyed.
“Given the huge number of very low-mass stars and planets, this could mean that the conditions suitable for life are common in the Universe.”
Astronomers are now planning to study GJ 1132b further using the Hubble Space Telescope and ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope, slated for launch in 2018, will also be used to study the exoplanet in future.
The detailed findings of the study have been published in Astronomical Journal.
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