[PER] Hubble finds oxygen, carbon in faraway planet's atmosphere

[congeries]

The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered the first planet outside the solar system known to have oxygen and carbon in its atmosphere, scientists said.

The findings showed that scientists can identify gases in the atmosphere of planets lightyears away from Earth, which could eventually allow researchers to find a planet with an atmosphere that could sustain life.

The planet, known as HD 209458b or Osiris, is a gas giant 150 lightyears from Earth. It orbits a star similar to the sun, the scientists said.

The findings of the team of scientists, led by Alfred Vidal-Madjar of the Astrophysics Institute of Paris, will be published in the US-based Astrophysical Journal Letters. - WASHINGTON (AFP) Feb 02, 2004