This work is part of an ongoing project which aims to detect terrestrial planets in our neighbouring star system α Centauri using the Doppler method. Owing to the small angular […]
astro-ph.EP]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Atmospheric dynamics of terrestrial exoplanets over a wide range of orbital and atmospheric parameters
The recent discoveries of terrestrial exoplanets and super Earths extending over a broad range of orbital and physical parameters suggests that these planets will span a wide range of climatic […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
H2O abundances in the atmospheres of three hot Jupiters
The core accretion theory for giant planet formation predicts enrichment of elemental abundances in planetary envelopes caused by runaway accretion of planetesimals, which is consistent with measured super-solar abundances of […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Revision of Earth-sized Kepler Planet Candidate Properties with High Resolution Imaging by Hubble Space Telescope
We present the results of our Hubble Space Telescope program and describe how our image analysis methods were used to re-evaluate the habitability of some of the most interesting Kepler […]
Posted inMars
Water in the Martian Regolith from OMEGA/Mars Express
Here we discuss one of the current reservoirs of water on Mars, the regolith and rocks exposed at the surface. This reservoir is characterized by the presence of H_{2}O- and […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Stellar Activity Masquerading as Planets in the Habitable Zone of the M dwarf Gliese 581
The M dwarf Gliese 581 is believed to host four planets, including one (GJ 581d) near the habitable zone that could possibly support liquid water on its surface if it […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Effects of Refraction on Transit Transmission Spectroscopy: Application to Earth-like Exoplanets
We quantify the effects of refraction in transit transmission spectroscopy on spectral absorption features and on temporal variations that could be used to obtain altitude-dependent spectra for planets orbiting stars […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Abiotic Ozone and Oxygen in Atmospheres Similar to Prebiotic Earth
The search for life on planets outside our solar system will use spectroscopic identification of atmospheric biosignatures. The most robust remotely-detectable potential biosignature is considered to be the detection of […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Hubble High Resolution Imaging of Kepler Small and Cool Exoplanet Host Stars
High resolution imaging is an important tool for follow-up study of exoplanet candidates found via transit detection with the Kepler Mission. We discuss here HST imaging with the WFC3 of […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Detection of Earth-mass Planets Around Active Stars: The Mass of Kepler-78b
Kepler-78b is a transiting Earth-mass planet in an 8.5 hr orbit discovered by the Kepler Space Mission. We performed an analysis of the published radial velocity measurements for Kepler-78 in […]