Distant Planet May Be On Its Second Atmosphere, NASA’s Hubble Finds
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- Produced by:
- Paul Morris
- View full credits
Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that a planet orbiting a distant star that may have lost its atmosphere but gained a second one through volcanic activity.
The planet, GJ 1132 b, is hypothesized to have begun as a gaseous world with a thick hydrogen blanket of atmosphere. Starting out at several times the diameter of Earth, this so-called “sub-Neptune” is believed to have quickly lost its primordial hydrogen and helium atmosphere due to the intense radiation of the hot, young star it orbits. In a short period of time, such a planet would be stripped down to a bare core about the size of Earth. That’s when things got interesting.
For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Paul Morris: Lead Producer
Additional Visualizations:
Artist’s impression of Exoplanet GJ 1132 b: Robert Hurt
Atmosphere escaping an exoplanet (artist’s impression): NASA, ESA, M. Kornmesser
Artist’s impression of WASP-107b: ESA/Hubble, NASA, M. Kornmesser
Video animation of of Exoplanet GJ 1132 b: Robert Hurt
Aerial of oozing red lava in Hawaii: Artbeats
Aerial from Puu Oo volcanic vents on Hawaii's Kilauea: Artbeats
Exovolcano Animation Background Only: Michael Lentz
Illustration depicting one interpretation of planet GJ 357 c: Chris Smith
Music Credits:
"Planetary Exploration" by Richard Andrew Canavan [PRS] via Sound Pocket Music [PRS], and Universal Production Music.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, please credit individual items as indicated above.
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Animators
- Chris Smith (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Martin Kornmesser (ESA)
- Michael Lentz (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Robert Hurt (IPAC)
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Producer
- Paul Morris (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Missions
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Additional footage from:
Science@NASA:
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/news-articles/on-the-cusp-of-understanding
JPL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMZ5WFRbSTc
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab:
https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/](/vis/a010000/a014100/a014123/MESSENGER_ULF_waves_YouTube.00030_print.jpg)
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