Loading...We’ve known for a long time what makes up Earth’s atmosphere: 78% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, and the remaining 2% a combination of many less common elements. We’ve known for a while now what makes up Jupiter’s atmosphere, the largest planet in our solar system and the first planet outside the asteroid belt, and only recently have we discovered the composition of the atmosphere of HD2O958 b, a gas giant orbiting a star 154 light years away. How, you might be wondering, did astronomers figure out the composition of a planet we can’t even see with telescopes? Well, as it turns out, it has to do with light. (ironically, as we can’t see the planet itself)
The video above, created by MinutePhyiscs, explains exactly how astronomers use light to figure out what’s in the atmosphere of distant planets. Put simply, we look at the light coming from the star that comes through the atmosphere of the planet, and then analyze that light to find the composition. I’ve oversimplified this process, but Henry Reich from MinutePhysics explains it very well in this interesting and entertaining video.