The first "clear detection" of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system has been made by NASA.
It isn't likely that this exoplanet will harbor life. The gas was found in the atmosphere of WASP-39 b which is a hot gas giant.
It is a potentially significant discovery that could give us insight into the evolution of exoplanets, and possibly spot signs of the gas in other rocky Earth like planets as well.
According to NASA, the exoplanet has a diameter 1.3 times larger than Jupiter and is very close to its star.
Astronomers have been able to add carbon dioxide to the list of substances they've been able to confirm, thanks to the incredible sensitivity of the instruments on the James Bond movie.
The exoplanet's brightness was measured using the observatory's Near-Infrared Spectrograph.
As soon as the data appeared on my screen, the carbon dioxide feature grabbed me.
It could lead to more exciting discoveries.
Natalie Batalha, team lead and researcher at the University of California at Santa Cruz, said that detecting carbon dioxide on WASP 39 b boded well for the detection of atmospheres on smaller, terrestrial-sized planets.
The data can be used to learn how exoplanets evolved.
Mike Line from Arizona State University said in the statement that they can determine how much solid or gaseous material was used to form the gas giant planet.
The world of astronomy is already being changed by NASA's revolutionary space observatory.
The measurement will be made for a variety of planets, giving insight into the details of how planets form and the unique nature of our own solar system.
NASA has detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a distant planet.
The researchers want to use the sun as a giant telescope to look for aliens.
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