Upcoming telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), or the Extremely Large Telescope (ELTs), may soon be able to characterize, through transmission, emission or reflection spectroscopy, the atmospheres […]
TRAPPIST-1
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Evidence for Spin-orbit Alignment in the TRAPPIST-1 System
In an effort to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for the TRAPPIST-1 system, we performed high-resolution spectroscopy during transits of planets e, f, and b. The spectra were obtained with the […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
The TRAPPIST-1 JWST Community Initiative
The upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) combined with the unique features of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system should enable the young field of exoplanetology to enter into […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
On The Impact Of Tides On The Transit-timing Fits To The TRAPPIST-1 System
Transit Timing Variations, or TTVs, can be a very efficient way of constraining masses and eccentricities of multi-planet systems. Recent measurements of the TTVs of TRAPPIST-1 led to an estimate […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Effect Of Vegetation On The Temperatures Of Trappist-1 Planets
TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf hosting a system consisting of seven planets. While orbital properties, radii and masses of the planets are nowadays well constrained, one of the open fascinating […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Fundamental Limits From Chaos On Instability Time Predictions In Compact Planetary Systems
Instabilities in compact planetary systems are generically driven by chaotic dynamics. This implies that an instability time measured through direct N-body integration is not exact, but rather represents a single […]
Posted inAlpha Centauri, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Brown Dwarfs, Epsilon Eridani, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Proxima Centauri, tau Ceti, TRAPPIST-1
Goldilocks Stars Are Best Places to Look for Life
In the search for life beyond Earth, astronomers look for planets in a star’s “habitable zone” — sometimes nicknamed the “Goldilocks zone” — where temperatures are just right for liquid […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Detectability of Molecular Signatures on TRAPPIST-1e through Transmission Spectroscopy Simulated for Future Space-Based Observatories
As discoveries of terrestrial, Earth-sized exoplanets that lie within the habitable zone of their host stars continue to occur at increasing rates, efforts have began to shift from the detection […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Do the TRAPPIST-1 Planets Have Hydrogen-rich Atmospheres?
Recently, transmission spectroscopy in the atmospheres of the TRAPPIST-1 planets revealed flat and featureless absorption spectra, which rule out cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmospheres. Earth-sized planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1 likely have either a […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
A Mirage Of The Cosmic Shoreline: Venus-like Clouds As A Statistical False Positive For Exoplanet Atmospheric Erosion
Near-term studies of Venus-like atmospheres with JWST promise to advance our knowledge of terrestrial planet evolution. However, the remote study of Venus in the Solar System and the ongoing efforts […]