Scientists want to investigate whether a distant planet has gases in its atmosphere that might trap heat. Which technology would be best suited for this task?

A space telescope can collect light from a distant planet and analyze its spectrum to identify gases in the planet’s atmosphere. Some gases absorb specific wavelengths of light, revealing whether heat-trapping gases are present. A probe or rover would need to travel to the planet, while an optical telescope is less suited to studying faint atmospheric signals from distant worlds.

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