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HD 189733b
·
In March
2008 Nature
reported
that a
carbon-containing
molecule has
been
detected for
the first
time on HD
189733b, a
planet some
63 light
years away,
outside our
Solar
System.
·
The organic
compound
methane was
found in the
atmosphere
of a planet
orbiting a
star some 63
light years
away.
·
Methane,
made up of
carbon and
hydrogen, is
the simplest
possible
organic
compound.
·
Under
certain
circumstances,
methane can
play a key
role in
prebiotic
chemistry -
the chemical
reactions
considered
necessary to
form life.
·
Water has
also been
found in its
atmosphere,
but
scientists
say the
planet is
far too hot
to support
life.
HD 189733b
·
It is
Located 63
light years
from Earth,
in the
constellation
Vulpecula,
the little
fox
·
About the
size of
Jupiter but
orbits
closer to
the parent
star in its
Solar System
than Mercury
does in our
own
·
Temperatures
reach 900
degrees C,
about the
melting
point of
silver
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