Hubble's tale of two exoplanets: Nature vs. nurture
Monday, June 5, 2017 - 15:12
in Astronomy & Space
Is it a case of nature versus nurture when it comes to two 'cousin' exoplanets? In a unique experiment, scientists used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study two 'hot Jupiter' exoplanets. Because these planets are virtually the same size and temperature, and orbit around nearly identical stars at the same distance, the team hypothesized that their atmospheres should be alike. What they found surprised them.