Observations carried out with the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo of two exoplanets belonging to the hot Jupiter class reveal an atmosphere rich in water, despite the high temperatures. Water is an essential ingredient for life as we know it—not only because we drink it, but because it is an exceptional solvent for the chemical processes that underlie life on Earth.
One of the most interesting possibilities offered by the research on exoplanets is the ability to study types of planets that are not present in the Solar System. Among these are the “hot” and “warm” Neptunes. These are planets the size of Neptune that orbit very close to their stars (with an orbital period shorter than 10 days), with an
