Hubble telescope reveals that Earth-like exoplanet has recreated its atmosphere

This is a surprising discovery revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope: a rock exoplanet would have a “secondary” or regenerated atmosphere. Study of images provided Hubble It is possible to differentiate volcanic activity on this planet called GJ1132b and it is located 41 light years from the solar system. This is the first time a secondary atmosphere has been detected on a planet outside the solar system.

“We initially thought these heavily irradiated planets were so boring because we thought they had lost their atmosphere,” Raisa Estrella, co-author of the study at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Pasadena (California). Scientific note Published by European space agency NASA and ESA. “It’s exciting because we believe the atmosphere we see today has been renewed.”

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A combination of direct observations and computer modeling was able to establish that this secondary atmosphere consisted of hydrogen, hydrogen cyanide, methane, ammonia, and a haze of hydrocarbons. In contrast, the primary atmosphere of GJ1132b is hydrogen and helium. Astronomers’ studies suggest that the early hydrogen may have been “absorbed” by the molten magma mantle of the exoplanet. It will now be released by the volcanic event that will create this new atmosphere. G.J. The scientific team estimates that the Earth’s crust of 1132b is too thin and too weak to support any relief, such as volcanic eruptions. Flat ground cracking can occur like an egg that can explain the release of hydrogen and other gases.

This discovery is important because it provides scientists working on extraterrestrial planes with a way to better understand the geography of a planet from its atmosphere, ”said Paul Rimmer of Cambridge University (UK). Paul Rimmer continues. “The interior of the planet, so this is a window that opens into the geography of another world,” Paul Rimmer continues. “There’s still a lot of work to do. Look, but finding that window is of great importance.”

G.J. Mark Swain, team leader at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, argues that when astronomers use the future James Webb space telescope to study 1132b, they can observe “the spectrum of the surface, not the spectrum of the atmosphere” and therefore the actual geological activity.

GJ1132 b and Earth share some things in common: both have an atmosphere of similar density, size and age and initially hydrogen, and are heated before being cooled. Studies by astronomers suggest that the surface has the same atmospheric pressure.

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