Hubble image archive
Artist's Illustration of Clear Skies on Exoplanet HAT-P-11b
Scientists were excited to discover clear skies on a relatively small planet, about the size of Neptune, using the combined power of NASA's Hubble, Spitzer, and Kepler space telescopes. The view from this planet – were it possible to fly a spaceship into its gaseous layers – is i...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2014
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2014-42-3428-image
Scientists were excited to discover clear skies on a relatively small planet, about the size of Neptune, using the combined power of NASA's Hubble, Spitzer, and Kepler space telescopes. The view from this planet – were it possible to fly a spaceship into its gaseous layers – is illustrated at right. Before now, all of the planets observed in this size range had been found to have high cloud layers that blocked the ability to detect molecules in the planet's atmosphere (illustrated at left).
The clear planet, called HAT-P-11b, is gaseous with a rocky core, much like our own Neptune. Its atmosphere may have clouds deeper down, but the new observations show that the upper region is cloud-free. This good visibility enabled scientists to detect water vapor molecules in the planet's atmosphere.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and R. Hurt (JPL-Caltech)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | HAT-P-11b |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Note: Observations from NASA's Kepler Mission and Spitzer Space Telescope contributed to the discovery of HAT-P-11b. Hubble data for this release of HAT-P-11b were obtained from the following HST proposal: : D. Deming (University of Maryland, College Park, and NASA Ames/Astrobiology Institute), H. Knutson (Caltech), N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge/Institute of Astronomy), and K. Todorov (ETH Zurich). The science team comprises: J. Fraine (University of Maryland, College Park, Institute of Astrophysics/Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and Caltech), D. Deming (University of Maryland, College Park, and NASA Ames/Astrobiology Institute), B. Benneke and H. Knutson (Caltech), A. Jordan and N. Espinoza (Institute of Astrophysics/Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge/Institute of Astronomy), A. Wilkins (University of Maryland, College Park), and K. Todorov (ETH Zurich). |
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