Mar 12, 2021
Detection of an Atmosphere on a Rocky Exoplanet
Stars and Planets are located at a great distance from our home planet earth. They can only be seen through telescopes with great magnification acquired by space organizations around the world. NASA is the leading organization in the astronomy sector and periodically provides some of the amazing astronomical news to the rest of the world.
Such an amazing discovery has occurred by one of the high-resolution telescopes of NASA. The Hubble Telescope has found an exoplanet named GJ1132 b which seems to appear that its atmosphere is regenerated by the planet itself. This is such an amazing discovery to know about a planet outside the solar system that has an atmosphere just like Earth.
Observations on this planet started in 2017 where they found no sign of atmosphere. In 2021 Hubble detected spectral scattering of aerosol radiation, cyanide, and methane, in a low molecular weight atmosphere. These are the compounds present on earth that make the fog. So it is assumed that the atmosphere is similar to that of the earth.
Scientists assume that the atmosphere created on the planet is due to the reduction in the H/He layer on the surface of the planet as observed by the Hubble telescope. In the early stages, scientists thought that there must be the degassing of hydrogen that is responsible for the changes in the atmosphere. One of the major factors responsible for these is the outgassing of the magma from the planet. They must have escaped from the core of the planet and forms sudden gases that created such a type of atmosphere.
Scientists find it very helpful to characterize the components by observation of the magma emerging from the planet. These discoveries can be the indication for the other exoplanets may be able to generate their own atmosphere like earth if they acquire certain conditions under favorable circumstances. And we will be able to see more other planets that are similar to earth in terms of temperature and atmosphere if possible.
