Flames of an Angel

Tom

An Old Friend
Organic Molecule on Extrasolar Planet

Credit: ESA/ NASA/ UCL (G. Tinetti), Posted on: Thursday, 20 March 2008, 06:43 CDT Download full size image
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has made the first detection ever of an organic molecule in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting another star. They made the finding by studying how light from the host star filters through the planet’s atmosphere. This breakthrough is an important step in eventually identifying signs of life on a planet outside our solar system. The molecule found by Hubble is methane, which under the right circumstances can play a key role in prebiotic chemistry — the chemical reactions considered necessary to form life as we know it. This illustration depicts the extrasolar planet HD 189733b with its parent star peeking above its top edge.

 
Since this is a painting and not a picture it had to be purposely drawn. I wonder what significance it holds for the artist?
I was making no distiction of heaven or hell. That was your own assignment. Given the content of the article and the inference that life molecules are present perhaps the artist included that image to represent a divine influence. Notice the filaments extending out from the spot?
 
Back
Top