It is reasonable to assume that the structure of a planet and the interior distribution of its components are determined by its formation history. We thus follow the growth of a planet from a small embryo through its subsequent evolution.
The atmospheres of exoplanets harbor critical information about their habitability. However, extracting and interpreting that information requires both high-quality spectroscopic data and a comparative analysis to characterize the findings.
Water-rich exoplanet is a type of terrestrial planet that is water-rich and its ocean depth can reach tens of to hundreds of kilo-meters with no exposed continents.
The construction and implementation of atmospheric model grids is a popular tool in exoplanet characterisation. These typically vary a number of parameters linearly, containing one model for every combination of parameter values.
The habitability of exoplanets can be strongly influenced by the presence of an exomoon, and in some cases the exomoon itself could be a possible place for life to develop. For moons outside of the habitable zone, significant tidal heating may raise their surface temperature enough to be considered habitable.
The transmission spectra of exoplanet atmospheres observed with the Hubble Space Telescope in the near-infrared range (1.1-1.65μm) frequently show evidence for some combination of clouds and hazes.
The Gl 486 system consists of a very nearby, relatively bright, weakly active M3.5 V star at just 8 pc with a warm transiting rocky planet of about 1.3 R_Terra and 3.0 M_Terra that is ideal for both transmission and emission spectroscopy and for testing interior models of telluric planets.
Predicted ET planets in comparison with Kepler's discoveries (see section 5). For sub- and
super-Earth, ET will increase the sample size by a factor of ∼10 in the near future (before 2030s).
Accurately measuring and modeling the Lyman-α (Lyα; λ1215.67 Å) emission line from low mass stars is vital for our ability to build predictive high energy stellar spectra, yet interstellar medium (ISM) absorption of this line typically prevents model-measurement comparisons.
Solid body tides provide key information on the interior structure, evolution, and origin of the planetary bodies.
In its long-duration observation phase, the PLATO satellite will observe two non-overlapping fields for a total of 4 yr. The exact duration of each pointing will be determined 2 yr before launch.
The direct characterization of exoplanetary systems with high contrast imaging is among the highest priorities for the broader exoplanet community.
We report the near-infrared radial-velocity (RV) discovery of a super-Earth planet on a 10.77-day orbit around the M4.5 dwarf Ross 508 (Jmag=9.1).
Nearly half of Sun-size stars are binary. According to University of Copenhagen research, planetary systems around binary stars may be very different from those around single stars. This points to new targets in the search for extraterrestrial life forms.
Advances in high-precision spectrographs have paved the way for the search for an Earth analogue orbiting a Sun-like star within its habitable zone.
While beta Pic is known to host silicates in ring-like structures, whether the properties of these silicate dust vary with stellocentric distance remains an open question.
We present Pandora, a new software to model, detect, and characterize transits of extrasolar planets with moons in stellar photometric time series.
The search for signs of life on other worlds has largely focused on terrestrial planets. Recent work, however, argues that life could exist in the atmospheres of temperate sub-Neptunes.
Direct imaging and spectroscopy is the likely means by which we will someday identify, confirm, and characterize an Earth-like planet around a nearby Sun-like star.
The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) mission is proposed to discover habitable-zone Earth-like planets of the nearby solar-type stars (~10pc away from our solar system) via micro-arcsecond relative astrometry.