Water and carbon dioxide have been found on ‘hot Jupiter’. Image: NASA

Scientists have detected water and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a hot planet 63 light-years from Earth.

The planet, nicknamed ‘hot Jupiter’ due to its similarity to its namesake in our Solar System, is unlikely to support life as the planet’s surface temperatures exceed 900°C.

The results of the study, published in the journal Nature, may help find planets that can support life.

A separate study conducted by NASA’s Space Hubble Telescope also discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the ‘hot Jupiter’, called HD 189733b.

The Hubble’s observations are an important step in the exploration of life beyond our world. The study proves that basic chemistry for life can be measured on planets orbiting other stars. The detection of organic compounds, such as CO², on a planet similar to Earth one day could provide the first example of extraterrestrial life.

Mark Swain, research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said: “The very fact that we are able to detect it and estimate its abundance is significant for the long-term effort of characterising planets to find out what they are made of and if they could be a possible host for life”.

For more information about NASA’s Hubble telescope, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble