NASA Creates Groundbreaking 'Hot Jupiter' Atmosphere In Its Labs

To understand conditions of exoplanets, NASA has managed to create the atmosphere of a super-hot planet outside our solar system, in its labs.

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California used a high-temperature "oven" to heat a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,100 Celsius),2 about the temperature of molten lava.

The aim was to simulate conditions that might be found in atmospheres of a type of exoplanets called "hot Jupiters", NASA said. The tests, published in the Astrophysical Journal, revealed some new details about the possible atmospheres humans might encounter on those planets.