Hubble Discovers an Evaporating Planet

Licensed2Hack writes "For the first time, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have observed the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet evaporating off into space. Much of the planet may eventually disappear, leaving only a dense core. The planet is a type of extrasolar planet known as a "hot Jupiter." Spaceflightnow and Nature have the details."

Quick !

[Timesprout]

Put the lid back on before it escapes !!

No suprise here

[Tuxinatorium]

What's all the fuss about? That's what you'd expect when a planet is too close and the star reaches the red giant phase.

Re:No suprise here

[Idarubicin]

What's all the fuss about? That's what you'd expect when a planet is too close and the star reaches the red giant phase.

On the other hand, it's the first time we've actually been able to observe the phenomenon, which makes it interesting in and of itself. It wasn't so long ago that any evidence of any extrasolar planet was big news, just because nobody had been able to find them before.

It's also a fairly rare event, at least within the volume of space we can readily observe. It's like asking, "What's all the fuss about? A supernova is just what you'd expect when a high-mass star collapses." Yes, it's the expected result, but there is still a good bit of information we can extract that we wouldn't otherwise have access too. It's nice to be able to confirm what happens to planetary systems when stars enter a red giant phase.

Re:No suprise here

[g4dget]

There is a difference between believing something can exist and observing it. Besides, gas giants orbiting close to a star are not all that well understood (and people used to believe they didn't exist at all), so any kind of data on this is useful.

WRONG!

[Doctor Fishboy]

The star in NOT in a red giant phase - it's still on the Main Sequence for dwarf stars, and is very similiar to our Sun.

The point is that you can't form a large gas giant so close to a star, it must have formed a long distance out and then 'migrated' to its present position near the star. How that happened will keep astro theorists in grants for a long time ;)

Also, the size of this gas giant has been noted to be much larger than theoretical models predict, suggesting it is being heated up by the proximity of the parent star - this 'boiling off' of the atmosphere confirms this interpretation.

Dr Fish

Re:No suprise here

[cornjchob]

A lot of realtors going out of business?

We're next [?]

[Marijuana al-Shehi]

Earth also has an extended atmosphere of escaping hydrogen gas, but the loss rate is much lower.

Gulp! Would someone please define "much lower" so I can sleep again?

Re:We're next [?]

[Idarubicin]

Gulp! Would someone please define "much lower" so I can sleep again?

What do you care? It's hydrogen (and other light species like helium) that are escaping at any significant rate. Unless you're breathing the stuff, you have nothing to worry about.

Re:We're next [?]

[Alsee]

63% of the atoms in your body are hydrogen.
Yeah, hydrogen is important lol.

-

Re:We're next [?]

[mslinux]

Dude, look at the big picture and you'll stop worring. I mean, we're due for an extinction size near earth object impact anytime now (like the one that got the dinosaurs).

When you look at the BIG picture, it makes the small crap we worry over each day seem insifnificant, no? So, the next time you get fired or someone does you wrong, take ease with the knowledge that one day a near earth object is going to slam into the earth and kill most all of us... if we humans don't nuke each other before. Cheer up!

dry planet?

[Joe the Lesser]

May I recommend core-so-soft lotion? Guaranteed to bring revitilizing atmosphere and vitaman E to itchy and dry celestial bodies.

Re:dry planet?

[HaloZero]

+1, Funny.

Please accept my apology for the lack of mod-points. Have this pseudo-Karma, instead.

rejoinder

[Alomex]

....for once an evaporating plantet that isn't really Microsoft's fault.

core?

[Spudley]

With any luck, we'll find out now whether the cores of these things really are giant diamonds.

(and if they are, what are the bets the space race suddenly hots up again... ;-)

diamond core

[barakn]

Let's see what simple economics has to say about it. Let's pretend there is a 1 km diamond asteroid within our own solar system (just to make it plausible to reach it). People consider, briefly, mining it. Then they realize that it would overwhelm the diamond market with shere volume. Diamonds would become cheap even before the ship bearing them landed back on Earth (notice how oil has gotten expensive and the war hasn't started yet?). They couldn't give those damn diamonds away for free.

Re:diamond core

[eglamkowski]

I'd take it for free. And then hide it, driving the prices back up when people realize the market won't be flooded. Occassionally I'd take it to a gemologist to split off a few pieces that I could sell at the artifically inflated prices. As if the prices aren't already artifically inflated right now anyways...

da Beers, here comes the competition!

Hide it??

[Scorchio]

Is that a two mile wide ex-planetary core diamond in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?

+1 Funny

[eglamkowski]

I sure wish I had some mod points, cause I find myself laughing out loud :-D

Ok, so a two mile wide diamond might be a bit tricky to hide... :-p

Re:diamond core

[chrisseaton]

"They couldn't give those damn diamonds away for free."

Diamonds are very useful in industry. Just think - we could all have diamond tipped power tools, so they would be useful, and worth buying whatever. People buy less valuable rocks, don't they.

Re:diamond core

[kfx]

The diamond market is already overwhelmed by vast volumes of earth diamonds, as diamonds themselves are neither rare or valuable in reality.

The entire concept of rare and valuable diamonds is a result of the most successful advertising/social engineering campaign ever devised; even now DeBeers and other diamond companies resrict the supply while telling you how rare diamonds are--they've been profiting from this strategy for some 70-80 years now, and they aren't about to stop now...

The only difference wit

duplicate

[Anonymous Coward]

first posted as "related solar system news" in Jupiter's Great Dark Spot [slashdot.org]

Spaceballs

[Associate]

She's gone from suck to blow!