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ESA Hubble - Dramatic Change Spotted on Faraway Planet



Published on Jun 28, 2012 by camillasdo

Dr. J (aka Dr. Joe Liske) presents the latest discovery about HD 189733b, an exoplanet that has been repeatedly studied by Hubble.

Observations taken in 2011 using Hubble and the Swift satellite showed a flare from the planet's parent star scorching the upper atmosphere and driving it off into space.



This is the first time that clear change has been observed in an exoplanet's atmosphere. The observations give a tantalising glimpse of changing weather on planets outside our Solar System.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have seen dramatic changes in the upper atmosphere of a faraway planet. Just after a violent flare on its parent star bathed it in intense X-ray radiation, the planet's atmosphere gave off a powerful burst of evaporation. The observations give a tantalising glimpse of the changing climates and weather on planets outside our Solar System.

Credit:
ESA/Hubble
Visual design and editing: Martin Kornmesser
Web and technical support: Raquel Yumi Shida and Mathias André
Written by: Oli Usher
Animations: Luis Calçada, Martin Kornmesser
Narration: Dr J (Joe Liske)
Solar videos: NASA, ESA, Solar Dynamics Observatory, SOHO/EIT (ESA & NASA)
Music: John Stanford from Deep Space
Directed by: Oli Usher
Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen

See also:

Thank God this wasn't our sun! Hubble spots planet shedding atmosphere following solar flare outburst - by Eddie Wrenn - Daily Mail

Astronomers the Hubble Space Telescope have seen dramatic changes in the upper atmosphere of a faraway planet.

Just after a violent flare on its parent star bathed it in intense X-ray radiation, the planet's atmosphere gave off a powerful burst of evaporation.

The observations give a tantalising glimpse of the changing climates and weather on planets outside our Solar System.

Astronomer Alain Lecavelier des Etangs and his team used Hubble to observe the atmosphere of exoplanet HD 189733b during two periods in early 2010 and late 2011, as it was silhouetted against its parent star.

While backlit in this way, the planet's atmosphere imprints its chemical signature on the starlight, allowing astronomers to decode what is happening on scales that are too tiny to image directly.

Click above Daily Mail link to read FULL report from Eddie Wrenn