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CALIFORNIA, iNews.id – Astronomers have detected water in the atmosphere of the planet during 179 light years while hunting for foreign life in space.
A team from the Keck Observatory discovered water in the planet 's atmosphere while she was investigating HR 8799c. The planet, one of four stars orbiting the star HR 8799, was found up to 179 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus.
Astronomers use sophisticated instruments to determine the presence of water and the lack of methane in the atmosphere of the planet. The team combined high-resolution spectroscopy with a technique called adaptive optics, which corrects the Burum effect of the Earth's atmosphere.
Once a photo is taken of the planet, astronomers use an instrument called a spectrometer to break down the light of the planet. This step reveals the fingerprints of chemicals in the atmosphere.
"This type of technology is what we want to use in the future to look for signs of life on Earth-like planets, we're not there yet, but we're lined up in front of it," he said. Dimitri Mawet, professor of astronomy at Caltech, quoted by Daily mail, Monday (26/11/2018).
Although astronomers have photographed more than a dozen exoplanets, HR 8799 is the only solar-powered solar system to have been photographed. Experts now hope to repeat the process on small planets.
According to scientists at the Keck Observatory, the goal is to search for chemicals that signal a livable atmosphere for life on a planet like the Earth. The research will be carried out with a thirty-meter telescope, a giant instrument planned for the end of the 2020s.
Publisher: Dini Listiyani
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