Watery Alien Planets Might Be Stripped Dry by Gravity

Two things about this article bother me.

1) The planets they describe, and they way they say those planets would lose their water, actually provide a powerful argument that those planets would never have gained any appreciable amount of water in the first place.

2) The article refers to Venus suffering from 'a runaway greenhouse effect'. This theory gained popularity in the 60s and 70s for explaining Venus' high surface temperature. The theory has since been debunked. (See link below.) This incorrect theory for Venus' temperature is often still cited as a warning about rising CO₂ levels on Earth causing a 'runaway greenhouse effect like on Venus'. [I'm not saying the greenhouse effect does not exist for Earth. Certainly it does, which is why Earth supports life. I'm just saying it is incorrect to use Venus as an extreme example of this process.]

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/05/06/hyperventilating-on-venus/

Interesting link, and obvious when you see it. Thanks for posting it.

What really bothers me is the idea that water vapor would escape into outer space, but not O2 or H2... or any other elements in gaseous form. It almost bothers me as much as those who cannot accept that the polar ice caps are melting.