Hubble Reports First Ever Signs of Carbon Dioxide on an Exoplanet

For the first time, carbon dioxide has been detected in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, astronomers working with

the Hubble Space Telescope

report. Although the Jupiter-sized planet, whichclosely orbits the starHD 189733 about 63 light-years from Earth,

is much too hot to support life, scientists are hailing the discovery as an exciting technical achievement.

“In that context, the carbon dioxide measurement constitutes a dress rehearsal …for our long-term goal of trying to detect signs of life or signs of habitability on terrestrial-mass planets or super Earths in the habitable zone,” [Science News] says Mark Swain of

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Researchers deduced the presence of carbon dioxide by measuring the planet's light spectrum with the Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). To isolate the light spectrum coming from the planet, researchers used a method known as "secondary transit."

This involves recording the light spectrum of the planet and ...