Extrasolar Planet HD 189733b Zoom-In

Artist's View of Extrasolar Planet HD 189733b

This illustration depicts the extrasolar planet HD 189733b with its parent star peeking above its top edge. Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to detect methane and water vapor in the Jupiter-size planet's atmosphere. They made the finding by studying how light from the...

Methane Absorption by the Atmosphere of Extrasolar Planet 189733b

Methane Absorption Spectrum

Location of Star HD 189733 on the Sky

Location of Star HD 189733 on the Sky (Digitized Sky Survey)

Hubble Finds Building Block of Life on an Extrasolar Planet

The search for life outside of our solar system takes another important step. Detecting an organic molecule in an extrasolar, or XO, planet means that the building blocks of life do exist elsewhere in the universe. Researchers can't be sure how the methane ended up in the...

Extrasolar Planet HD 189733b Zoom-In (Annotated)

Extrasolar Planet Transit

Prism Animation

Spectroscopy splits light into its components to reveal the "fingerprints" of various chemicals. Extensive observations were made with Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) as planet HD 189733b passed in front of its parent star in what astronomers...