NASA astronomers have mapped the cloud structure of an alien planet for the first time by using its Spitzer and Kepler space telescopes.
The news means that astronomers could be able to find planets with human-compatible atmospheres sometime in the near future, according to National Geographic.
A map released by NASA shows a first look at clouds on a Jupiter-like planet called Kepler 7b, which is some 1,000 light years away from Earth.
"By observing this planet with Spitzer and Kepler for more than three years, we were able to produce a very low-resolution 'map' of this giant, gaseous planet," said MIT's Brice-Olivier Demory, lead author of the study, according to a NASA press release. "We wouldn't expect to see oceans or continents on this type of world, but we detected a clear, reflective signature that we interpreted as clouds."
Astronomers have nearly four years of data on thousands of potential planets waiting for analysis, according to National Geographic.
Kepler 7b was the first of over 150 confirmed exoplanets that Kepler discovered. The telescope was able to watch Kepler 7b go through changes like the waxing and waning of the moon and even saw a bright spot on its western hemisphere.
Most of the information collected was done as the planet traveled around its parent star in under 7 days.
"Kepler-7b reflects much more light than most giant planets we've found, which we attribute to clouds in the upper atmosphere," said Thomas Barclay, Kepler scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, according to a NASA press release.
Astronomers weren't able to tell if the bright spot was due to heat or clouds, so they decided to use Spitzer to help them out.
Spitzer was able to measure the planet's temperature, which led astronomers to confirm that the source of light was due to its host's star's light bouncing off of cloud tops on its western hemisphere, according to National Geographic.
"Unlike those on Earth, the cloud patterns on this planet do not seem to change much over time, it has a remarkably stable climate," said Barclay.
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