

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-5241

j.d.harrington@nasa.gov



Ray Villard

Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.

410-338-4514

villard@stsci.edu



J.D. HarringtonHeadquarters, Washington202-358-5241Ray VillardSpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.410-338-4514

MEDIA ADVISORY : M08-058

Hubble Detects Organic Molecule on an Extrasolar Planet

WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 19, to report on the first-ever detection of the organic molecule methane in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a distant star.Though the planet is too hot to support life as we know it, the finding demonstrates the ability to detect organic molecules spectroscopically around Earth-like planets in habitable zones around stars.Briefing participants are:- Dr. Mark Swain, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.- Dr. Sara Seager, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CambridgeThis unique discovery, made with Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), will be featured in the March 20 issue of the journal Nature.To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact Ray Villard at 410-338-4514 or Cheryl Gundy at 410-338-4707 at the Space Telescope Science Institute by noon on March 19 for the call-in number and passcode. At the start of the briefing, images and supporting graphics will be posted on the Web at:Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on NASA's Web site at:For more information about NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the Web, visit:

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