Small & Big Bridge by MagikUnicorn

Photography • Atmosphere/Mood • posted on Oct 20, 2009

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Description

LaSalle Blv Montreal Mercier Bridge in the depth ☼ SPACE NEWS ☼ Astronomers do it Again: Find Organic Molecules Around Gas Planet Peering far beyond our solar system, NASA researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to characterize planets where life could exist. The planet is not habitable but it has the same chemistry that, if found around a rocky planet in the future, could indicate the presence of life. "It's the second planet outside our solar system in which water, methane and carbon dioxide have been found, which are potentially important for biological processes in habitable planets," said researcher Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Detecting organic compounds in two exoplanets now raises the possibility that it will become commonplace to find planets with molecules that may be tied to life." Swain and his co-investigators used data from two of NASA's orbiting Great Observatories, the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope, to study HD 209458b, a hot, gaseous giant planet bigger than Jupiter that orbits a sun-like star about 150 light years away in the constellation Pegasus. The new finding follows their breakthrough discovery in December 2008 of carbon dioxide around another hot, Jupiter-size planet, HD 189733b. Earlier Hubble and Spitzer observations of that planet had also revealed water vapor and methane. The detections were made through spectroscopy, which splits light into its components to reveal the distinctive spectral signatures of different chemicals. Data from Hubble's near-infrared camera and multi-object spectrometer revealed the presence of the molecules, and data from Spitzer's photometer and infrared spectrometer measured their amounts. "This demonstrates that we can detect the molecules that matter for life processes," said Swain. Astronomers can now begin comparing the two planetary atmospheres for differences and similarities. For example, the relative amounts of water and carbon dioxide in the two planets is similar, but HD 209458b shows a greater abundance of methane than HD 189733b. "The high methane abundance is telling us something," said Swain. "It could mean there was something special about the formation of this planet." Other large, hot Jupiter-type planets can be characterized and compared using existing instruments, Swain said. This work will lay the groundwork for the type of analysis astronomers eventually will need to perform in shortlisting any promising rocky Earth-like planets where the signatures of organic chemicals might indicate the presence of life. Rocky worlds are expected to be found by NASA's Kepler mission, which launched earlier this year, but astronomers believe we are a decade or so away from being able to detect any chemical signs of life on such a body. If and when such Earth-like planets are found in the future, "the detection of organic compounds will not necessarily mean there's life on a planet, because there are other ways to generate such molecules," Swain said. "If we detect organic chemicals on a rocky, Earth-like planet, we will want to understand enough about the planet to rule out non-life processes that could have led to those chemicals being there." "These objects are too far away to send probes to, so the only way we're ever going to learn anything about them is to point telescopes at them. Spectroscopy provides a powerful tool to determine their chemistry and dynamics." The full version of this story with accompanying images is at: FULL STORY & IMAGES Thanks Magik

Comments (67)

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anitalee

4:37PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Great shot

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shadownet

4:40PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Nice POV! Me personally, I love that little bridge. May not be as useful as the big one but would fit nicely in my backyard by the pond. :O)

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claude19

4:40PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Alors, comme cela, on s'amuse à prendre en photo, l'un petit au premier plan et à l'horizon...à 1km5 un grand pont qui paraît insignifiant !!! Grandeurs & Décadences des ponts à MONTREAL !!!!

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Rainastorm

4:45PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

EXCELLENT POV...Very cool:-)

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MOSKETON

4:57PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

GENIAL.

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CarolSassy

4:59PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Very cool view! Excellent perspective! (:

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Faemike55

5:01PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Wonderful perspective and capture, getting both bridges in the same shot! I like the smaller bridge!

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mickeyrony

5:01PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

That makes me think a little of Mot and Jeff lol ....., Superbe catch still that good moments. Magix. Cheer still and mile mercies ((5++)) Cela me fait penser un peu à Mot and Jeff lol....., Superbe prise encore que de bons moments .Magix . Bravo encore et mile mercis ((5++))

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brycek

5:13PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Beautiful capture!!

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orig_buggy

5:19PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

a bridge to view bridges...fantastic!!

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Darkwish

5:33PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Amazing work here! Great!

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eekdog

5:40PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

nice picture magik. but enjoy your nasa update even more..

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Steff_7

5:43PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Excellent capyure but the articule you included about potential life in space was extremely interesting read.... Excellent on both...

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flavia49

5:58PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

wonderful capture!! great POV!! like the text about life in space!!!

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A_Joker_B

6:00PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Top capture Magik!

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myquad

6:00PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Interesting info and beautiful shot!

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angelafair

6:02PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Very good shot!

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tamburro

6:52PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Fantastic place, very beautiful!!!! Excellent photo my friend!!!!

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annie5

6:53PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Sur ce petit pont, une magnifique vue du pont Mercier! Tu avais une belle journée ensoleillée..Ext capture :) (Profitons de l'été des Indiens)

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scifibabe

7:03PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Fascinating space news. It's just fabulous that scientists can detect these planets so far away. Carl Sagan was right about the potential for life - billions of stars out there means there's got to be the potential for other life to exist. Love your writeup on it. Great photo. A beautiful bridge. I would love to walk on it. Great photo!

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mgtcs

7:32PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Perfect perspective, amazing place, impeccable photo!

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lizzibell

7:55PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Beautiful bridge...

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psyoshida

8:30PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Wonderful news from the Hubble once again! It's hard to imagine gas giants bigger then Jupiter, hard to even imagine Jupiter's size, then to think they can determine the elements on those planets. Fantastic! Your scene is very beautiful! Dual bridges!

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amota99517

9:19PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Beautiful shot! The railing on the bridge is so intriguing. I love how ornate the railings are.

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bmac62

9:33PM | Tue, 20 October 2009

Montreal looks like my kind of place. So far I've been in Canada to the east and to the west...but never in your beautiful hometown. Fine job on this photo.

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