1 post tagged “solar system”

Water has been found for the first time in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system.

The discovery increases the chances of life being found among the stars.

The planet, nicknamed Osiris by astronomers, orbits so close to its parent star that its surface reaches a scorching 1,100C.

It has already given scientists a number of surprises. Osiris, which is 150 light years from Earth and has the official title HD 209458b, was the first extra-solar world known to have an atmosphere, mainly composed of hydrogen. But its atmosphere was found to be boiling away into space.

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I tend not to post news items on this blog, keeping those for my other blog at: http://lamentations.blogspirit.com/

but this item really caught my imagination. I have always taken a keen interest in space and in the more speculative realm of science fiction. I remeber as a 10 year old rushing home from school so I could seen the lastest pictures on the first moon landing.

It was incredible to look up at the moon at night during that time and think that there were two men up there.

We have come alomg way since then, we have found water on Mars, and sent our small robot explorers scuttling over the surface of the red planet, sending us back some truely amazing pictures from the surface. I wonder if a man or woman will ever walk upon the surface of that planet in my lifetime? I hope so. I will be glued to my TV constantly.

Now we seem to be able to extend our knowledge in ever widening circles to plaets which lie outside our solar system, and produce data on their atmospheric composition, climate and even be able to detect the presence of water.

The more I learn about the universe around us the more I wonder at it's magnificence and mystery.