First Exoplanet To Be Seen In Color Is Blue 139
ananyo writes "A navy-blue world orbiting a faraway star is the first exoplanet to have its colour measured. Discovered in 2005, HD 189733 b is one of the best-studied planets outside the Solar System, orbiting a star about 19 parsecs away in the Vulpecula, or Fox, constellation. Previous efforts to observe the planet focused on the infrared light it emits — invisible to the human eye. Astronomers have now used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the planet and its host star. Hubble's optical resolution is not high enough to actually 'see' the planet as a dot of light separate from its star, so instead, the telescope receives light from both objects that mix into a single point source. To isolate the light contribution of the planet, the researchers waited for the planet to move behind the star during its orbit, so that its light would be blocked, and looked for changes in light colour. During the eclipse, the amount of observed blue light decreased, whereas other colours remained unaffected. This indicated that the light reflected by the planet's atmosphere, blocked by the star in the eclipse, is blue."
Suggested name of the planet (Score:5, Funny)
Let's call this place "Eiffel 65".
Re:Not Water (Score:4, Funny)
Ah, but Neptune is named for a water god, which totally refutes your point and isn't a non-sequitur at all.
Re:Question: what atmospheric constituents? (Score:4, Funny)
Many and varied. After all, in our own solar system, Earth, Uranus, and Neptune are all shades of blue.
If Uranus is blue, you should really go see a proctologist.
Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week! Tip your wait staff!
Re:Question: what atmospheric constituents? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Question: what atmospheric constituents? (Score:5, Funny)
It's a very primitive biosphere; dominated by methane, molecular hydrogen and congressmen.
I, for one, will be happy when Hubble is dead (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, look at all this time and effort we're wasting on "science" and "discovery."
We need to get back to 16th century thinking and government funded services so my taxes can go down another $10 a paycheck. I mean, those cigarettes and premium cable TV channels aren't going to pay for themselves!
Re:Suggested name of the planet (Score:5, Funny)