
Astronomers detect water in the atmosphere of a planet 179 light-years away - arto
https://www.universetoday.com/140610/astronomers-detect-water-in-the-atmosphere-of-a-planet-179-light-years-away/
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hliyan
It's amazing when you consider that this is a _direct image_ (the first image
in the article) of planets almost 200 light years away, taken from telescopes
on the _surface of the Earth_ \-- something that would have made me jump up
and down with excitement twenty years ago. It is now almost routine.

Also note that these planets are gas giants about 20AU away from the parent
star. It's entirely possible that there are rocky planets closer to the star
that might be getting occluded along with the star's light. Those may have
water too.

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SubiculumCode
I hadn't realized it was now at the level of routine. The article indicates
"So far, astronomers have directly-imaged more than a dozen exoplanets."

20 AU...so like Neptune distance.

This is the kind of image that makes me want to fund super space telescope(s).
Getting two space telescopes to work in conjunction like the Keks would be
awesome for the resolving power.

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hliyan
Precisely. Just imagine what we could accomplish with two JamesWebb-sized
telescopes on opposite sides of Earth orbit!

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yesenadam
It seems to be 129 light years away, not 179.

astrobiology.nasa.gov, the Open Exoplanet Catalogue, space.com, britannica.com
all say it's (about) 129 light years away. Wikipedia says 129±4.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HR_8799](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HR_8799)

[http://www.openexoplanetcatalogue.com/planet/HR%208799%20e/](http://www.openexoplanetcatalogue.com/planet/HR%208799%20e/)

[https://www.britannica.com/place/HR-8799](https://www.britannica.com/place/HR-8799)

[https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/a-four-planet-system-
in-o...](https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/a-four-planet-system-in-orbit-
directly-imaged-and-remarkable/)

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Dowwie
distance from earth = 179 * 5.9 trillion miles

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choot
Detecting water is a new thing?

People have been using Drowsing for ages.

Galatic Drowsing.

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hermitdev
Dowsing is the word you're looking for, not crossing.

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edem
It is a gas giant with water, not a terrestrial planet. Sorry to burst your
bubble.

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iamgopal
Have we established that only terrestrial planets can host life?

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ianai
My thinking too! Sample size of 1 really can’t be generalized!!

