It’s ALIVE! Well, Almost…

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spied the unique spectroscopic signature of Methane on a far away (63 Light Years), Jupiter-like planet circling close into its parent star, in the constellation Vulpecula. Methane is a molecule associated with what is called prebiotic chemistry, the precursor to life. The planet, named HD 189733b as only a scientists would do, is a hot, gas giant type planet that takes a mere two days to orbit around its sun. The methane detected leads scientist to hope that they can find more of this type of chemical on planets located in that orbital sweet spot where water can exist as a liquid and life can flourish.

According to NASA’s website, “This discovery proves that Hubble and upcoming space missions, such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, can detect organic molecules on planets around other stars by using spectroscopy, which splits light into its components to reveal the ‘fingerprints’ of various chemicals.”

The discovery comes after extensive observations made in May 2007 with Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). It also confirms the existence of water molecules in the planet's atmosphere, a discovery made originally by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in 2007. "With this observation there is no question whether there is water or not - water is present," said Swain.

Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the team leader on the project that discovered the Methane with HST said, "This is a crucial stepping stone to eventually characterizing prebiotic molecules on planets where life could exist." Swain is also lead author of a paper that will be published in Nature about the discovery.

We are all looking forward to the day in 2013 when the James Webb Space Telescope is launched. NASA says this about both the HST and the James Webb Space Telescope:

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) and is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. The institute is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., Washington, D.C. JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope for NASA. Scheduled for launch in 2013, JWST will probe even deeper into the universe than Hubble can now. JWST is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). GSFC is managing the development effort. The prime contractor is Northrop Grumman Space Technologies. STScI will operate JWST after launch.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) and is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. The institute is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., Washington, D.C. JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope for NASA. Scheduled for launch in 2013, JWST will probe even deeper into the universe than Hubble can now. JWST is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). GSFC is managing the development effort. The prime contractor is Northrop Grumman Space Technologies. STScI will operate JWST after launch.

The discovery also brings to light questions about our understanding of exoplanet atmosphere as we understand them as the temperature of a planet so close to its sun should not have as much methane as HST detected.

"These measurements are an important step to our ultimate goal of determining the conditions, such as temperature, pressure, winds, clouds, etc., and the chemistry on planets where life could exist. Infrared spectroscopy is really the key to these studies because it is best matched to detecting molecules," said Swain.

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