Water Found on Far Away Planet

In an amazing discovery scientists studying our solar system and beyond have found for the first time, water on another planet outside of our solar system.

The planet that is causing all the excitement is outside of our solar system. In fact is it is part of the Pegasus constellation and located some 150 light years away from planet Earth.

The planet is called HD 209458b, not easy to remember by any means. Lets just hope a more common name is given to it. HD209458b is a massive gas planet similar to a planet in our own solar system; Jupiter. The water was detected in the atmosphere of HD209458b.

This new report contradicts and early report by Astronomers in February when they said that HD209458b and another gas giant planet did not have any signs of water.

The findings of water on HD209458b confirm a theory that many astronomers had. This is that most of the 'extrasolar planets' should have some water in their atmospheres. This theory says that even hot gas planets similar to Jupiter should have water.

The fascinating discovery will give scientists a better understanding of where and how life could exist elsewhere in the universe.

The astronomer who made the discovery of water in HD209458b's atmosphere is Travis Barman from the Lowell Observatory, which is located in Arizona. Barman said of his discovery, "We know that water vapor exists in the atmosphere of one extrasolar planet and there is good reason to believe that other extrasolar planets contain water vapor."

For anyone that has a strong interest in the universe the planet HD209458b is no stranger. HD209458b has been the focus of a number of firsts in the space observations world. When 'planet hunters' were looking outside of our solar system in 1999 HD209458b was the planet to be watched as it went around its star that wasn't in our solar system. A few short years later HD209458b became the first planet outside our solar system where oxygen and carbon were detected in its atmosphere.

Even though HD209458b has many similarities to Jupiter there are some stark differences. For one HD209458b is much closer to its star than Jupiter is to the sun. It is estimated that HD209458b is located 4 million miles from its star. This distance makes the planet extremely hot. Scientists believe that the heat is causing the planet to shrink as around 10,000 tons of the planet get turned into gas every second with much of it leaving the planet's atmosphere and escaping into space.

Barman is confident that this discovery will lead to many more findings of water in the atmosphere of planets. He said, "I'm very confident. It's definitely good news because water has been predicted to be present in the atmosphere of this planet and many of the other ones for some time." "Certainly this part of that puzzle - understanding the distribution of water in other solar systems is important for understanding whether or not conditions for life are possible."

Sources
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6544257.stm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18041454/
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/50395.html