Astronomers using NASA’s +Hubble Space Telescope have gone looking for water vapor in the atmospheres of three planets orbiting stars similar to the Sun — and have come up nearly dry.
The three planets, HD 189733b, HD 209458b, and WASP-12b, are between 60 and 900 light-years away. These giant gaseous worlds are so hot, with temperatures between 1,500 and 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, that they are ideal candidates for detecting water vapor in their atmospheres.
However, to the surprise of the researchers, the planets surveyed have only one-tenth to one one-thousandth the amount of water predicted by standard planet-formation theories.
Please join +Tony Darnell Dr. +Carol Christian and +Scott Lewis as they discuss these intriguing findings with the astronomers who made the observations.
And as always, we welcome your comments and questions! See you there!
Here is s a link to the STScI Press Release:
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2014/36/