Hazy red sunset on extrasolar planet

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An artists impression of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b seen here with its parent star looming behind. The planet is slightly larger than our own Solar Systems Jupiter. Its atmosphere is a scorching eight hundred degrees Celsius. Astronomers have f ...
An artist's impression of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b seen here with its parent star looming behind. The planet is slightly larger than our own Solar System's Jupiter. Its atmosphere is a scorching eight hundred degrees Celsius. Astronomers have found that the sunset on HD 189733b would look similar to a hazy red sunset on Earth. Credit: ESA, NASA and Frederic Pont (Geneva University Observatory)

A team of astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to detect, for the first time, strong evidence of hazes in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a distant star. The discovery comes after extensive observations made recently with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).


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All News summaries for December 11, 2007

Satellite communications by laser

58 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
Satellites currently use radio waves to exchange data. Now the data rate has been increased a hundredfold by using lasers instead of radio signals. Two test satellites each carried a diode laser pump module developed with ...

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GREENBELT, Md. - NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is receiving finishing touches at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near the beaches of eastern central Florida for its launch. The ...

Fecal microorganisms inhabit sandy beaches of Florida

3 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Traditionally, the cleanliness of a beach is monitored by sampling the bathing water a few meters from shore. But since sand is an effective filter, it follows that fecal bacteria (those from sewage) may be concentrated in ...

Astronaut health on moon may depend on good dusting

3 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Lunar dust could be more than a housekeeping issue for astronauts who visit the moon. Their good health may depend on the amount of exposure they have to the tiny particles.