The next generation of ground- and space-based telescopes will be able to observe rocky Earth-like planets in the near future, transiting their host star. We explore how the transmission spectrum […]
exoplanet
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Survival of Primordial Planetary Atmospheres: Photodissociation Driven Mass Loss
The most widely-studied mechanism of mass loss from extrasolar planets is photoevaporation via XUV ionization, primarily in the context of highly irradiated planets. However, the lower energy regime of FUV […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Can Close-in Giant Exoplanets Preserve Detectable Moons?
Exoplanet discoveries have motivated numerous efforts to find unseen populations of exomoons, yet they have been unsuccessful. A plausible explanation is that most discovered planets are located on close-in orbits, […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Exoplanets Can Be Made Less Habitable By Stars' Flares
The discovery of terrestrial exoplanets, planets that orbit stars outside the solar system, has been one of the most significant developments in modern astronomy. Several exoplanets lie in the “habitable […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Retrieving Exoplanet Atmospheric Winds From High-resolution Spectroscopy
The atmosphere of exoplanets has been studied extensively in recent years, using numerical models to retrieve chemical composition, dynamical circulation or temperature from data. One of the best observational probes […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
An Extremely Low-density And Temperate Giant Exoplanet
Transiting extrasolar planets are key objects in the study of the formation, migration, and evolution of planetary systems. In particular, the exploration of the atmospheres of giant planets, through transmission […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Identify Exo-Earth Candidates in Direct Imaging Data Through Bayesian Classification
Future space telescopes may be able to directly image โผ10 – 100 planets with sizes and orbits consistent with habitable surface conditions (“exo-Earth candidates” or EECs), but observers will face […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
The Effect of Land Fraction and Host Star Spectral Energy Distribution on the Planetary Albedo of Terrestrial Worlds
The energy balance and climate of planets can be affected by the reflective properties of their land, ocean, and frozen surfaces. Here we investigate the effect of host star spectral […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Planet Formation and Migration Near the Silicate Sublimation Front in Protoplanetary Disks
The increasing number of newly detected exoplanets at short orbital periods raises questions about their formation and migration histories. A particular puzzle that requires explanation arises from one of the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
A Virtual Planet Simulator for Modeling Distant Worlds Across Time
University of Washington astrobiologist Rory Barnes has created software that simulates multiple aspects of planetary evolution across billions of years, with an eye toward finding and studying potentially habitable worlds. […]