Gases in Atmosphere of a Super-Earth Detected for the First Time
Posted on February 16, 2016
The gases in the atmosphere of a super-Earth have been detected for the first time. Researchers from University College London (UCL) discovered that the presence of helium and hydrogen in the atmosphere of exoplanet 55 Cancri e.
55 Cancri e has been dubbed the diamond planet in the past due to its interior that astronomers suspect is carbon-rich. The UCL-led research team used new processing techniques on data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to examine the exoplanet's atmosphere. Observations were made by scanning the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) very quickly across the star to create a number of spectra. These observations were combined and processed with computer analytic 'pipeline' software to retrieve the spectral fingerprints of 55 Cancri e. The researchers also say the data hints at a signature for hydrogen cyanide.
Angelos Tsiaras, a PhD student at UCL who developed the analysis technique, says in a statement, "This is a very exciting result because it's the first time that we have been able to find the spectral fingerprints that show the gases present in the atmosphere of a super-Earth. Our analysis of 55 Cancri e's atmosphere suggests that the planet has managed to cling on to a significant amount of hydrogen and helium from the nebula from which it formed."
55 Cancri e is located in a solar system around 55 Cancri, a star that is about 40 light-years from Earth. The exoplanet has a year that lasts 18 hours. Temperatures on the surface of 55 Cancri e are thought to reach around 2000 degrees Celsius.
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