NASA’s Hubble Telescope has discovered signs of water vapor on five Jupiter-sized planets outside the solar system.
But the fiery planets are not suitable for life, sitting too close to their respective suns to sustain water on the surface, scientists say. The telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3, which measures near-infrared light, detected traces of water by observing each planet as it passed in front its sun, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Scientists expect the James Webb Telescope, which plans to launch in 2018, will be stronger than the Hubble and able to spot signs of water on smaller planets similar to Earth.