The exoplanet GJ 1214b, which orbits a star 40 light-years from Earth, offers astronomers a unique chance to study its atmosphere because it passes directly in front of … Atmosphere Origin GJ 1214b may have formed from a variety of primordial materials in its protoplanetary disk. Preliminary studies for the properties of clouds and photochemical hazes in the atmosphere of GJ 1214b suggested that both components can provide a flat spectrum (Morley et al. Transit observations of the super-Earth GJ 1214b rule out cloud-free H{sub 2}-dominated scenarios, but are not able to determine whether the lack of deep spectral features is due to high-altitude clouds or the presence of a high mean molecular mass atmosphere. The authors conclude from their observations, combined with all the previous photometric observations, that GJ 1214b can be fit by a hydrogen and helium dominated atmosphere only if it is significantly depleted in methane. The transmission spectrum of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b is observed to be featureless at near-infrared wavelengths and its atmosphere must contain clouds to be consistent with the data. Given the uncertainties in the nature of the atmosphere of GJ 1214b… Discovered in 2009 , the planet is about 2.7 times Earth’s diameter and is almost 7 times as massive. The data, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, are sufficiently precise to detect absorption features from a high mean-molecular-mass atmosphere. GJ1214b, shown in this artist’s view, is a super-Earth orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. 40 light-years away lies the exoplanet GJ 1214b, a searingly hot "super-Earth" orbiting a red dwarf star. Berta and his colleagues report their results online in the Astrophysical Journal. In the process, it would have experienced more Earth-like temperatures, but how long this benign phase lasted is unknown, researchers said. For that reason, scientists have nicknamed the planet "the waterworld". Berta and his co-authors, who include Derek Homeier of ENS Lyon, France, used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 … Gliese 1214 b (often shortened to GJ 1214 b) is an exoplanet that orbits the star Gliese 1214, and was discovered in December 2009.Its parent star is 48 light-years from the Sun, in the constellation Ophiuchus.As of 2017, GJ 1214 b is the most likely known candidate for being an ocean planet. Here we further examine the possibility that GJ 1214b does indeed possess a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, which is the hypothesis that is favored by models of the bulk composition of the planet. The initial spectra of this planet also showed no features, but indicated GJ 1214b's atmosphere was dominated by water vapor or hydrogen, with high-altitude clouds. We show that the atmospheric circulation is strong enough to transport micrometric cloud particles to the upper atmosphere and generally leads to a minimum of cloud at the equator. Clouds in the atmosphere of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b @article{Kreidberg2014CloudsIT, title={Clouds in the atmosphere of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b}, author={L. Kreidberg and J. L. Bean and J. 2OBSERVATIONS Photometric observations of GJ 1214b were conducted using the GTC telescope on La Palma. Earth's density is 5.5 g/cc, while that of water is 1 g/cc. Here we report a measurement of the transmission spectrum of GJ 1214b at near-infrared wavelengths that definitively resolves this ambiguity. Given the planet's mass and radius, its density can be calculated. An artist's conception shows a super-Earth known as GJ 1214b with its parent star and another world. The paper Three Possible Origins for the Gas Layer on GJ 1214b is of … However, their observations could also be explained by the presence of a planet-enshrouding haze in GJ 1214b’s atmosphere. GJ 1214b, first discovered in December 2009, is 2.7 times the size of Earth and 6.5 times as massive. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, The same is true for Kepler-11f. Astronomers estimate the planet¹s temperature to be about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. They also require a particular analysis of the data, in which they cross-correlate the observations with each model, to have a signal significantly greater than zero. DOI: 10.1038/nature12888 Corpus ID: 4447642. New Subaru Telescope observations of super-Earth GJ 1214 b show that the exoplanet is likely to have a water-rich atmosphere. The others have all been gas giants. The first spectra of this planet also were featureless, but indicated GJ 1214b's atmosphere was dominated by water vapor or hydrogen, with high-altitude clouds. Quite possibly. Here, we simulate the atmosphere of GJ1214b with a 3D General Circulation Model for cloudy hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, including cloud radiative effects. by Caroline Morley | Apr 13, 2011 | Daily Paper Summaries | 0 comments. Given the uncertainties in the nature of the atmosphere of GJ 1214b… GJ 1214b, first discovered in December 2009, is 2.7 times the size of Earth and 6.5 times as massive. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. Future observations could draw more conclusions about the atmosphere by looking at water features; a methane-depleted hydrogen-helium dominated atmosphere should exhibit prominent absorption features from water. The standard-bearer for this new class of exoplanet is called GJ 1214b, which astronomers first discovered in December 2009. 40 light-years away lies the exoplanet GJ 1214b, a searingly hot "super-Earth" orbiting a red dwarf star. [The Strangest Alien Planets]. GJ 1214b is classified as a water-world, and is the only example of such a planet yet to be discovered. The data show that GJ 1214b's atmosphere isn't, as previously theorized, a puffy, cloud-free layer of mainly hydrogen gas. NY 10036. Because GJ 1214b is so close to Earth, it's a prime candidate for study by future instruments. (Baraffe et al. To date, astronomers have discovered more than 700 planets beyond our solar system, with about 2,300 more "candidates" awaiting confirmation by follow-up observations. It orbits a red-dwarf star at a distance of 1.2 million miles (2 million kilometres), giving it an estimated surface temperature of 446 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius) — too hot to host life as we know it. By measuring the absorption spectra of the planet’s atmosphere, astronomers were able to shed light onto its composition. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. GJ 1214b is located in the constellation Ophiuchus, some 40 light-years from us. According to Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics scientist and lead author Zachory Berta, "GJ1214b is like no planet we know of. The observed spectrum, however, is featureless. Models for the structure of this planet predict that it likely possesses an H-He envelope of at least 0.05% of the total mass of the planet. Instead, the new observations reinforce the notion that GJ 1214b's atmosphere contains at least 50% water by mass. Recent observations of the transiting super-Earth GJ 1214b reveal that its atmosphere may be hydrogen-rich or water-rich in nature, with clouds or hazes potentially affecting its transmission spectrum in the optical and very-near-IR. Through a comparison with theoretical models, the density in turn provides limited but highly useful information ab… Here we report a measurement of the transmission spectrum of GJ 1214b at near-infrared wavelengths that definitively resolves this ambiguity. The extracted transmission spectrum are compared to the atmospheric models. Multi-color Transit Photometry of GJ 1214b through BJHK s Bands and a Long-term Monitoring of the Stellar Variability of GJ 1214. The other is a "water world" scenario where the bulk of the planet would be composed primarily of water. 1998), then the radius of the planet, GJ 1214b, would also be smaller by a comparable amount—resulting in a planet that does not require a large atmosphere to explain its observed radius. Scientists first reported in 2010 that GJ 1214b's atmosphere is likely composed primarily of water, but their findings were not definitive. When the first exoplanet atmosphere was measured in 2002, … The mass of the planet can be inferred from sensitive observations of the parent star's radial velocity, measured through small shifts in stellar spectral lines due to the Doppler effect. Two classes of models have been proposed to explain the planet's observed low density. An atmosphere that is not depleted in either methane or carbon is specifically ruled out. New York, The advantage of finding planets around these cool, small stars is that super-Earth sized planets such as GJ 1214b create a larger dip in the light curve than the same planet would around a Sun-sized star, making them easier to detect and, with further observations, characterize. Astronomers have found one planet as light and airy as Styrofoam, for example, and another as dense as iron. "A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water.". The data seem to confirm that GJ 1214b has a very steamy atmosphere, thick with water vapor. The super-Earth GJ 1214b, which has 6.5 times the mass of our Earth, orbits its star once every 38 hours at a distance of only 1.3 million miles. The paper Three Possible Origins for the Gas Layer on GJ 1214b is of relevance. All the published transmission data from GJ 1214b are used to analyze the atmosphere. Get breaking space news and the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Qemist 22:04, 23 December 2009 (UTC) Photochemical hazes are expected to form in the upper atmosphere (p<10μbars) and coagulate to larger Recent observations of the transiting super-Earth GJ 1214b reveal that its atmosphere may be hydrogen-rich or water-rich in nature, with clouds or hazes potentially affecting its transmission spectrum in the optical and very-near-IR. Unlike many of the other transiting super-Earth-sized planets (or Kepler planet candidates), GJ 1214b orbits a fairly bright star and causes a large enough dip (~1%) during transit to practically acquire observations that would constrain the characteristics of its atmosphere. It is also the first super-Earth around which an atmosphere has been found. There was a problem. The radius of GJ 1214b lies 0.49 ± 0.13 R E above the water-world curve (caption to their figure 3). They've discovered several alien worlds that orbit two suns, like Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine in the "Star Wars" films. If gas accreted directly from the protoplanetary nebula and was retained in the atmosphere, then the atmosphere would be predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium. © 2000, 2003) to acquire photometry within a bandpass of 12Å. According to Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics scientist and lead author Zachory Berta, "GJ1214b is like no planet we know of. In a water-rich atmosphere, such as the one on GJ 1214b, the effect of the Rayleigh scattering is much weaker than in a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. While these are hard to measure from the ground since there is so much water in Earth’s atmosphere, they should be easy to characterize from space using the Hubble Space Telescope. An alien machine already visited us, Harvard astrophysicist still contends. Only 2.7 times the size of Earth and 6.6 times as massive, the new planet takes 38 hours to circle a dim red star, GJ 1214, in the constellation Ophiuchus about 40 light-years from here. Clouds in the atmosphere of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b 2014 KREIDBERG L., BEAN J., DESERT J.-M., BENNEKE B., DEMING D. et al. "We’re using Hubble to measure the infrared color of sunset on this world," Berta said. This so-called "super-Earth" is about 2.7 times Earth’s diameter and weighs nearly seven times as much as our home planet. There are also tantalizing hints that the planet has a gaseous atmosphere. Even more intriguing is that due to the temperature (being so close to its red dwarf star makes it around 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and extreme pressures, all that water gets a bit…exotic. "The high temperatures and high pressures would form exotic materials like 'hot ice' or 'superfluid water,' substances that are completely alien to our everyday experience," Berta said. The radius of GJ 1214b lies 0.49 ± 0.13 R E above the water-world curve (caption to their figure 3). 2011) suggest that the atmosphere is in fact dominated by hydrogen and helium. Previous observations of the planet's size and mass demonstrated it has a low density for its size, leading astronomers to conclude the planet is some kind of solid body with an atmosphere. Preliminary studies for the properties of clouds and photochemical hazes in the atmosphere of GJ 1214b suggested that both components can provide a flat spectrum (Morley et al. "GJ 1214b is like no planet we know of," study lead author Zachory Berta of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., said in a statement. When GJ 1214b was first discovered in 2009, just 42 light-years from Earth, astronomers couldn’t decide exactly what it was—either a mini-Neptune, with an extended, gassy atmosphere, or a planet made largely of water, with a more compact atmosphere rich in water vapor.

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