The TRAPPIST-1 system, consisting of an ultra-cool host star having seven known Earth-size planets will be a prime target for atmospheric characterization with JWST. However, the detectability of atmospheric molecular […]
TRAPPIST-1
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Revised Mass-radius Relationships For Water-rich Terrestrial Planets Beyond The Runaway Greenhouse Limit
Mass-radius relationships for water-rich terrestrial planets are usually calculated assuming most water is present in condensed (either liquid or solid) form. Planet density estimates are then compared to these mass-radius […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Searching For A Cometary Belt Around Trappist-1 With ALMA
Low mass stars might offer today the best opportunities to detect and characterise planetary systems, especially those harbouring close-in low mass temperate planets. Among those stars, Trappist-1 is exceptional since […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
James Webb Space Telescope Will Study TRAPPIST-1 Planet Atmospheres
The study, led by Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, a UW doctoral student in astronomy, finds that the James Webb telescope, set to launch in 2021, might be able to learn key information […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Eccentricities and The Stability of Closely-Spaced Five-Planet Systems
We investigate the stability of idealized planetary systems consisting of five planets, each equal in mass to the Earth, orbiting a one solar mass star. All planets orbit in the […]
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The Chaotic Nature of TRAPPIST-1 Planetary Spin States
The TRAPPIST-1 system has 7 known terrestrial planets arranged compactly in a mean-motion resonant chain around an ultra-cool central star, some within the estimated habitable zone. Given their short orbital […]
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Water Delivery to the TRAPPIST-1 Planets
Three of the seven rocky planets (e, f, and g) in TRAPPIST-1 system orbit in the habitable zone of the host star. Therefore, water can be in liquid state at […]
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The Detectability and Characterization of the TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanet Atmospheres with JWST
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will offer the first opportunity to characterize terrestrial exoplanets with sufficient precision to identify high mean molecular weight atmospheres, and TRAPPIST-1’s seven known transiting […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Powerful Particles And Tugging Tides May Affect Extraterrestrial Life
Since its discovery in 2016, planetary scientists have been excited about TRAPPIST-1, a system where seven Earth-sized rocky planets orbit a cool star. Three of the planets are in the […]
Posted inPress Release, TRAPPIST-1
Tides Between The TRAPPIST-1 Planets
The TRAPPIST-1 system is sufficiently closely packed that tides raised by one planet on another are significant. We investigate whether this source of tidal heating is comparable to eccentricity tides […]