According to NASA, they have found an Exoplanet, HAT-P-11b, with clear skies and steamy water vaper outside of our solar system. It is a planet about the size of Neptune. Astronomers were able to use a combination of data from Hubble, Kepler, and Spitzer. HAT-P-11b is 120 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.
This is the first time scientists have found water vapor on a planet this size. They had to use a technology to its top level and have a little luck. They were lucky that HAT-P-11b had clear skies and not cloud cover.
“This discovery is a significant milepost on the road to eventually analyzing the atmospheric composition of smaller, rocky planets more like Earth,” said John Grunsfeld, assistant administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Such achievements are only possible today with the combined capabilities of these unique and powerful observatories.” (NASA)
NASA appears to be encouraged by this discovery. They plan on examining more and more planets outside of our solar system for signs of water.
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