An international collaboration between astronomers using the CHEOPS and TESS space satellites, including NCCR PlanetS members from the University of Bern and the University of Geneva, have found a key […]
CHEOPS
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
CHEOPS Observations Of KELT-20 b/MASCARA-2 b: An Aligned Orbit And Signs Of Variability From A Reflective Dayside
Occultations are windows of opportunity to indirectly peek into the dayside atmosphere of exoplanets. High-precision transit events provide information on the spin-orbit alignment of exoplanets around fast-rotating hosts.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Refining The Properties Of The TOI-178 System With CHEOPS And TESS
The TOI-178 system consists of a nearby late K-dwarf transited by six planets in the super-Earth to mini-Neptune regime, with orbital periods between 1.9 and 20.7 days.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Investigating The Visible Phase Curve Variability Of 55 Cnc e
55 Cnc e is an ultra-short period super-Earth transiting a Sun-like star. Past observations in the optical range detected a time-variable flux modulation phased with the planetary orbital period whose […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Neptune, Press Release
Cheops Explores Mysterious Warm Mini-Neptunes
ESA’s exoplanet mission Cheops confirmed the existence of four warm exoplanets orbiting four stars in our Milky Way. These exoplanets have sizes between Earth and Neptune and orbit their stars […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Characterization Of A Set Of Small Planets With TESS And CHEOPS And An Analysis Of Photometric Performance
The radius valley carries implications for how the atmospheres of small planets form and evolve, but this feature is only visible with highly-precise characterizations of many small planets.