Credit: ESA, NASA/ JPL-Caltech/G. Tinetti (Institute d'Astrophysique de Paris, University College London)

Exoplanet Forecast: Hot and Wet

This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that a toasty gas exoplanet, or a planet beyond our solar system, contains water vapor.

Spitzer observed the planet, called HD 189733b, cross in front of its star at three different infrared wavelengths: 3.6 microns, 5.8 microns, and 8 microns (see lime-colored dots). For each wavelength, the planet's atmosphere absorbed different amounts of the starlight that passed through it. The pattern by which this absorption varies with wavelength matches known signatures of water, as shown by the theoretical model in blue.

About the Object	Object Name: HD 189733b Object Type: Transiting Exoplanet Position (J2000): RA: 20 00 43 Dec: +22 42 39 Distance: 63 light-years Constellation: Vulpecula
About the Data	Image Credit: ESA, NASA/ JPL-Caltech/G. Tinetti (Institute d'Astrophysique de Paris, University College London) Instrument: Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) Wavelength: 3.6 and 5.8 microns (Data at 8 microns taken on November 2, 2006, published by Knutson et al., 2007, Nature 447, 183 are also used in the analysis.) Exposure Date: October 31, 2006 Exposure Time: 4.5 hours Release Date: 2007/07/11
Observers	Giovanna Tinetti (European Space Agency, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, University College London) Alfred Vidal-Madjar (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris) Mao-Chang Liang (California Institute of Technology & Research Center for Environmental Changes) Jean-Philippe Beaulieu (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris) Yuk Yung (Research Center for Environmental Changes) Sean Carey (Spitzer Science Center) Robert J. Barber (University College London) Jonathan Tennyson (University College London) Ignasi Ribas (Institut de Ciències de l'Espai - CSIC-IEEC) Nicole Allard (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris) Gilda E. Ballester (University of Arizona) David K. Sing (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris & Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) Franck Selsis (Ecole Normale Supérieure)

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