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Old 15-09-2010, 07:07 AM
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CraigS
Unpredictable

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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Australia
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In the News: Exoplanet Missing Methane

In the news:
Lack of methane to blame for planet's 'smell'

Quote:
To the surprise of astronomers who have been studying the Neptune-sized planet using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, GJ 436b (33 light years) has very little methane (CH4).
..
"Methane should be abundant on a planet of this temperature and size, but we found 7000 times less methane than what the models predict,"

Finding methane was a foregone conclusion.

But what if planetary atmospheres don't always follow the rules of our own Solar System? GJ 436b certainty doesn't. Investigators might have to go back to the drawing board and re-figure their chemistry.
"GJ 436b is telling us something important," says Harrington: "We’re not in Kansas anymore."
Note the underlined part. The 'Pathological Science' part of me is not surprised by this statement.

Cheers
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