A Little Blue Dot

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/11/world/space-blue-planet/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

 I'm a big follower of the search for exoplanets, so I just found this fascinating.  The article is about a planet that the Hubble Space Telescope was able to image 63 light years away.  Hubble didn't image the planet directly, but rather was able to discern the planet's color using the spectrum of light reflected off the planet surface as it orbited the star.  As the planet went behind the star, there was a noticeable drop in the blue portion of the spectrum, indicated the planet is blue in color.  That doesn't mean the planet is covered in water.  No, the planet is what is known as a "hot Jupiter," a gas giant that orbits very close to its star, and is several thousand degrees Fahrenheit.  This particular planet orbits about 3 million miles away from its star, a tenth of the distance between Mercury and our sun.  Scientists guess the planet is about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and that any rain would be liquid glass.  Now, this is obviously not a nice place, but the fact that we can do this is remarkable science.  The precision of the Hubble is remarkable, despite its age.  The news about exoplanets has been getting steadily more exciting as time goes on, I look forward to hearing the next story on them.