Methane Found For First Time on a Planet Beyond Our Solar System

"It is way too arrogant to think that we are the only ones living in the Universe."

Dr Giovanna Tinetti, University College, London

A carbon-containing molecule, methane has been detected for the very first ever outside of our own Solar System 63 light years from Earth, in the constellation Vulpecula. Meaning “Little Fox” in Latin, the constellation has yielded surprises before. In 1967 Cambridge scientists detected the first known pulsar. The northern constellation is located in the middle of the Summer Triangle, an asterism of bright stars known as Deneb, Vega and Altair.

Now scientists have detected an organic compound in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-like planet known as HD 189733b. The planet also has water in its atmosphere, but scientists say that the planet is likely far too hot to support life. Even so, the discovery is being hailed as an important step towards exploring new worlds that might harbor life. Methane, made up of carbon and hydrogen, is the simplest possible organic compound. If it turns out to be plentiful in the universe, then the possibility that we are not alone is greatly increased. Methane can play a key role in the prebiotic chemistry believed necessary to form life.

HD 189733b is about the size of Jupiter but its orbit is much closer to its star. Temperatures reach 900 degrees C, which is about the melting point of silver.

Dr Giovanna Tinetti, and co-authors Mark Swain and Gautam Vasisht, from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, discovered methane in the planet's atmosphere with the Hubble Space Telescope as the planet passed in front of its parent star. As the star's light passed through the planet's atmosphere, the gases imprinted their chemical signatures on the transmitted light.
Using spectroscopy, which splits light into its components, revealed the chemical "fingerprint" of methane. The team also confirmed a previous discovery made by Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope, that the atmosphere of the planet does have water vapor.

For most of 270 known planets orbiting stars other than our own, scientists know next to nothing. Only the planets’ mass and orbital properties are known for the most part. It’s exciting news indeed that scientists are now beginning to move beyond discovery of their existence and into discoveries about their unique properties that define them as individual worlds.

For decades humans have dreamed of finding new worlds harboring life, or a least world’s capable of sustaining human life. The hope for many is that we will one day be able to branch out centuries from now and colonize the galaxy.

Posted by Rebecca Sato.

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*This research can be found in the paper ‘Methane present in an extrasolar planet atmosphere’ by Mark Swain, Gautam Vasisht and Giovanna Tinetti published March 20th in the journal Nature.

Be sure to check out the Top 10 ExoPlanets compiled by Space.com