HD 189733, also catalogued as V452 Vulpeculae, is a binary star system approximately 63 light-years away in the constellation of Vulpecula (the Fox). The primary star is suspected to be an orange dwarf star, while the secondary star is a red dwarf star. Given that this system has the same visual magnitude as HD 209458, it promises much for the study of close transiting extrasolar planets. Well that has just happened. An international team of astronomers using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has made an unparalleled observation, detecting significant changes in the atmosphere of a planet located beyond our solar system. The scientists conclude the atmospheric variations occurred in response to a powerful eruption on the planet's host star, an event observed by NASA's Swift satellite. "The multiwavelength coverage by Hubble and Swift has given us an unprecedented view of the interaction between a flare on an active star and the atmosphere of a giant planet," said lead researcher Alain Lecavelier des Etangs at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics (IAP).
HD 189733, also catalogued as V452 Vulpeculae, is a binary star system approximately 63 light-years away in the constellation of Vulpecula (the Fox). The primary star is suspected to be an orange dwarf star, while the secondary star is a red dwarf star. Given that this system has the same visual magnitude as HD 209458, it promises much for the study of close transiting extrasolar planets. Well that has just happened. An international team of astronomers using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has made an unparalleled observation, detecting significant changes in the atmosphere of a planet located beyond our solar system. The scientists conclude the atmospheric variations occurred in response to a powerful eruption on the planet's host star, an event observed by NASA's Swift satellite. "The multiwavelength coverage by Hubble and Swift has given us an unprecedented view of the interaction between a flare on an active star and the atmosphere of a giant planet," said lead researcher Alain Lecavelier des Etangs at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics (IAP).
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HD 189733 A has one known planet, designated HD 189733 b, a gaseous giant 13% larger than Jupiter close enough to complete an orbit every two days. Using spectrometry it was found in 2007 that this planet contains significant amounts of water vapour. This planet is the second extrasolar planet where definitive evidence for water has been found.
The chemical signature of water vapor was detected in the atmosphere of this planet. Although HD 189733b with atmospheric temperatures rising above 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) is far from being habitable, this finding increases the likelihood that water, an essential component of life, would be found on a more Earth-like planet in the future.
HD 189733b periodically passes across, or transits, its parent star, and these events give astronomers an opportunity to probe its atmosphere and environment. In a previous study, a group led by Lecavelier des Etangs used Hubble to show that hydrogen gas was escaping from the planet's upper atmosphere. The finding made HD 189733b only the second-known "evaporating" exoplanet at the time.
"Astronomers have been debating the details of atmospheric evaporation for years, and studying HD 189733b is our best opportunity for understanding the process," said Vincent Bourrier, a doctoral student at IAP and a team member on the new study.
When HD 189733b transits its star, some of the star's light passes through the planet's atmosphere. This interaction imprints information on the composition and motion of the planet's atmosphere into the star's light.
In April 2010, the researchers observed a single transit using Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), but they detected no trace of the planet's atmosphere. Follow-up STIS observations in September 2011 showed a surprising reversal, with striking evidence that a plume of gas was streaming away from the exoplanet.
The researchers determined that at least 1,000 tons of gas was leaving the planet's atmosphere every second. The hydrogen atoms were racing away at speeds greater than 300,000 mph. The findings will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Despite the extreme temperature of the planet, the atmosphere is not hot
enough to evaporate at the rate seen in 2011. Instead the evaporation
is thought to be driven by the intense X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet
radiation from the parent star, which is about 20 times more powerful
than that of our own Sun. Taking into account also that HD 189733b is a
giant planet very close to its star, then it must suffer an X-ray dose 3
million times higher than the Earth.
HD 189733 A has starspots which affect its luminosity by 1.5 percent in visible light which makes it a slightly variable star. The exoplanet is very close to its parent star and subsequently responds significantly to changes and stellar eruptions such as this variability.
For further information see Exoplanet.
Star Map image via NASA/Hubble.
