NASA discovers "super-Earth" planet with analyzable atmosphereFebruary 18, 2016 - 13:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Astronomers at NASA, working with the ESA and the University College London, announced that they have discovered a "super-Earth" exoplanet with an atmosphere, that, for the first time, they can analyze, Engadget reports. The Hubble telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) first spotted the planet, dubbed 55 Cancri e, which is only about 40 light years away. Super-earths are simply rocky planets that are bigger than the Earth -- in this case, eight times bigger. They're widely believed to be the most common type of rocky planet in the galaxy. "This is a very exciting result because it's 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," UCL PhD student Angelos Tsiaras said in a statement. "The observations of 55 Cancri e's 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." Unfortunately, 55 Cancri e probably doesn't support life. Its atmosphere appears to be comprised almost entirely of hydrogen and helium with no traces of water. Plus, the planet is so close to its star that a year there lasts 18 Earth-hours and the surface of the planet can get as hot as 2,000 degrees C. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Aliyev travels to Turkey at Erdogan's invitation On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. CSTO budget “to be adjusted due to Yerevan’s non-payment of contributions” The CSTO budget for the current year requires adjustments due to the refusal of Yerevan to pay their share of contributions. Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. |