Last year the orbiting super-Earth, Gliese 1214b, was discovered as a shadow passing in front of the red dwarf, Gliese 1214. The low density planet is 6.5 Earth masses, and orbits it’s star in just 38 hours.
One of the only ways to analyze the atmosphere of a world 40 light years away, is to use large telescopes to view the planet as it passes in front of its star. This is exactly what astronomers did at the European Southern Observatory.
As they monitored he light coming through, they noticed the spectrum as featureless. This is a result of the upper atmosphere being covered in clouds, haze, and/or water vapor.
This is the first super-Earth which has had its atmosphere analyzed in such a way. While the exact composition of the atmosphere is still unknown, one theory that the planet would have a rich hydrogen atmosphere has been proven out of the running.
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| Atmospheric comparison of Gliese 1214b and Earth. |
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| An artist's impression shows how the newly discovered super-Earth surrounding the nearby star GJ1214 may look. ESO/L. Calçada |
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