Hubble image archive

Clouds in Atmosphere of Exoplanet GJ 1214b (Artist's View)

This is an illustration of the hypothetical appearance of the exoplanet GJ 1214b, which is known as a "super-Earth" type planet because it is slightly more than six Earth masses. Spectroscopic observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope provide evidence of high clouds blanket...

Date
Jan 1, 2014
Mission
Hubble Space Telescope
Archive ID
hubblesite-images-2014-06-3303-image
By

This is an illustration of the hypothetical appearance of the exoplanet GJ 1214b, which is known as a "super-Earth" type planet because it is slightly more than six Earth masses. Spectroscopic observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope provide evidence of high clouds blanketing the planet. These clouds hide any information about the composition and behavior of the world's lower atmosphere and surface. The composition of the clouds is unknown. GJ1214b is located 40 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Ophiuchus.

Credits

Artwork: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI);
Science: NASA, ESA, L. Kreidberg and J. Bean (University of Chicago), and H. Knutson (California Institute of Technology)

Image Details

About The Object
Object NameGJ 1214b
Object DescriptionExtrasolar Planet
R.A. Position17h 15m 18.93s
Dec. Position04° 57' 49.71"
ConstellationOphiuchus
Distance40 light-years (12.3 parsecs)
About The Data
Data DescriptionThe Hubble data are from proposal : J. Bean (University of Chicago), J.-M. Desert (California Institute of Technology), S. Seager (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), D. Deming (University of Maryland), B. Benneke (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Z. Berta-Thompson (Harvard University), K. Stevenson (University of Chicago), and D. Homeier (Lyon Centre for Astrophysics Research). The science team includes: L. Kreidberg and J. Bean (University of Chicago), J.-M. Desert (California Institute of Technology), B. Benneke (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), D. Deming (University of Maryland), K. Stevenson (University of Chicago), S. Seager (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Z. Berta-Thompson (Harvard University), A. Seifahrt (University of Chicago), and D. Homeier (Lyon Centre for Astrophysics Research).
InstrumentHST>WFC3
Exposure DatesSeptember 27, 2012 - August 4, 2013
FiltersGrim: G141

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