Hubble discovered the presence of carbon dioxide in exoplanet

An artist's concept of HD 189733b, an exoplanet 63 light years away CREDIT:ESA, NASA, M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble), and STScI

Have you seen TRANSFORMER 2? We are not the only inhabitants of the universe….thats what the movie is trying to tell us. For a long long time, scientists have explored the possiblity of other life forms other than the human beings on earth. And recently astronomers and scientists became very excited when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet called HD 189733b. This planet is as big as the planet Jupiter and is 63 light years away and is much too hot to support any life forms. But the Hubble observations,one of astronomy’s greatest achievements, demonstrate that the fundamental Chemistry for life to exist can be measured on planets orbiting other stars. This discovery signifies that there is further possibility of finding other planets that have carbon dioxide. Previous observations of HD 189733b by Hubble and the Spitzer Space Telescope found water vapor and methane which are Earthlike qualities and may someday provide evidence of life beyond Earth.

“The carbon dioxide is the main reason for the excitement because, under the right circumstances, it could have a connection to biological activity as it does on Earth. The very fact we are able to detect it and estimate its abundance is significant for the long-term effort of characterizing planets to find out what they are made of and if they could be a possible host for life.” Mark Swain, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

What the scientists are figuring out now is how exactly this carbon dioxide was formed in planet HD 189733b. One theory explains that it was a result of intense ultraviolet radiation that resulted from the near proximity of the planet with the star.