Hubble sniffs CO2 on far-flung 'hot Jupiter' planet

The Hubble Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a star 63 light years away. NASA says this is "an important step toward finding chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life". NASA art depicting the 'hot Jupiter' HD189733b in orbit round its parent orange dwarf Nice …

[Anonymous Coward]

"It might be nicer if NASA had found a way of spotting free oxygen."

Were it not for the fact that oxygen was poisonous to most of the original life forms on earth [citation needed]

[Chris Cartledge]

Carbon Dioxide and Life?

Back in this solar system, Venus has an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide, causing its surface temperature to be over 460 °C.

Not ideal for life as we know it...

[Gordon Pryra]

I for one

Welcome our tremendously strong superbeing overlords?

[Paul]

I for one...

Welcome our Gravity enriched super overlords. (Sorry)

[Anonymous Coward]

@ AC

Said oxygen was also produced by the same original life forms ("oxidized" from the reduced form where oxygen naturally occurs, e.g. in CO2 and H2O), hence the significance as an indicator of life.

[Luther Blissett]

James Webb Space Telescope

The only Jimmy Webb I've heard of is the guy who wrote Galveston, McArthur Park, and other whimsical ditties.

Is NASA trying to fess up to something in a postmodern way? ("we'll fess up, but on no account can we appear to be fessing up"). Like, we NASA do whimsical ditties too, such as Is There Life on Mars.

[Anonymous Coward]

Futurama

Is the Huble telescope actually an implimentation of Professor farnsworth's Smeloscope?

[Chris Shewchuk]

@ Chris Cartledge

Maybe I'm old fashioned and out of touch with reality, but I try to get through a complete article before posting in regards to it. It helps prevent me from looking like an utter tool when the article already has things covered. Like, say about two thirds down the page.

[English Bob]

Near-infrared emissions

If their method relies on detecting near-infrared emissions of the planet's super-hot atmosphere, presumably it won't therefore work on a planet that doesn't have a super-hot atmosphere. One that would be more likely to support life, for instance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not so unusual

That planet is just like southern Spain.

Hot, smelly and full of aliens!

[BioTube]

Life? Mebbeh

Let's face it: we know only about EARTH life. For all we know, that planet houses uberbig ammonia jellyfish who have recently invented a jetpack that can fly for FORTY seconds.