{"id":19462,"date":"2016-02-16T22:09:28","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T14:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/first-spectral-analysis-of-a-super-earths-atmosphere-shows-its-not-super-for-life\/"},"modified":"2016-02-16T22:09:28","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T14:09:28","slug":"first-spectral-analysis-of-a-super-earths-atmosphere-shows-its-not-super-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/first-spectral-analysis-of-a-super-earths-atmosphere-shows-its-not-super-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"First spectral analysis of a super-Earth\u2019s atmosphere shows it\u2019s not super for life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image:
An artist\u2019s impression shows the super-Earth 55 Cancri e in front of its parent star. The star is slightly smaller, cooler and less massive than our sun. (Credit: M. Kornmesser \/ ESA \/ Hubble)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the first time, astronomers have conducted a spectral analysis of a distant super-Earth\u2019s atmosphere \u2013 and the results show it would be a hellish place to visit.<\/p>\n

We already knew that about 55 Cancri e, which is about 40 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cancer. It circles its parent star once every 18 hours, in an orbit so close that its surface temperature is 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit (2,100 degrees Celsius). The world, which is also known as Planet Janssen, is eight times as massive as Earth and has been nicknamed the diamond planet due to its carbon content.<\/p>\n

Now we know the planet\u2019s air would be poisonous, even if it we could cool it down.<\/p>\n

A research team led by astronomers from University College London used the Hubble Space Telescope\u2019s Wide Field Camera 3 to study variations in the spectral signature of light coming from 55 Cancri e\u2019s parent star. By carefully analyzing the patterns in those spectral variations, and matching them up with the planet\u2019s transit across the sun\u2019s disk, the researchers were able to pull out the signature of the planet\u2019s atmosphere from the starlight.<\/p>\n

The result? 55 Cancri e\u2019s atmosphere is dominated by hydrogen and helium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very exciting result, because it\u2019s 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,\u201d Angelos Tsiaras, a Ph.D. student at UCL, said in a news release. \u201cThe observations of 55 Cancri e\u2019s atmosphere suggest that the planet has managed to cling on to a significant amount of hydrogen and helium from the nebula from which it originally formed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings have been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Other astronomers have observed super-Earths closely enough to produce information about their atmospheres, including findings that suggest there are clouds in those atmospheres. But the European Space Agency\u2019s Hubble team says those earlier studies weren\u2019t able to get the spectral data that the UCL-led team got.<\/p>\n