Hunting for Water on ExoPlanets

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), a team of astronomers have been able to detect the telltale spectral fingerprint of water molecules in the atmosphere of a planet in orbit around another star. The discovery endorses a new technique that will let astronomers efficiently search for water on hundreds of worlds without the need for space-based telescopes.

Dr. Jayne Birkby of Leiden University presented the new result on Friday 5 July at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland.