In the far away Boötes constellation, there exists a massive planet known as tau Boötis b. It’s a world unlike anything that exists in our solar system. The closest comparison we have is Jupiter, but tau Boötis b is thought to weigh in at eight and a half times the mass of our solar system’s largest planet. Termed a “hot-Jupiter”, it also exists in an aptly-named “torch orbit,” seven times closer to its star than Mercury is to our Sun.
Yet it is here that astronomers from Penn State University have detected the presence of water. Using a new technique, the team was able to detect water in the planet’s atmosphere, likely in the form of water vapor.
via DVICE
Image credit: David Aguilar
