There is growing evidence that brown dwarfs may be comparable to main-sequence stars in terms of their abundance. In this paper, we explore the prospects for the existence of life […]
extrasolar planet
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Energy Budgets for Terrestrial Extrasolar Planets
The pathways through which incoming energy is distributed between the surface and atmosphere has been analyzed for the Earth. However, the effect of the spectral energy distribution of a host […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Scaling Relations for Terrestrial Exoplanet Atmospheres from Baroclinic Criticality
The macroturbulent atmospheric circulation of Earth-like planets mediates their equator-to-pole heat transport. For fast-rotating terrestrial planets, baroclinic instabilities in the mid-latitudes lead to turbulent eddies that act to transport heat […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Hot Hydrogen Climates near the inner edge of the Habitable Zone
Young terrestrial planets can capture or outgas hydrogen-rich atmospheres with tens to hundreds of bars of H2, which persist for 100 Myrs or longer. Although the earliest habitable conditions on […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
A Pathfinder for Imaging Extrasolar Earths from the Ground
The Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) project is an instrument on the Subaru telescope that is pushing the frontiers of what is possible with ground-based high-contrast imaging of extrasolar […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Characterization of the L 98-59 multi-planetary System with HARPS
L 98-59 (TIC 307210830, TOI-175) is a nearby M3 dwarf around which TESS revealed three terrestrial-sized transiting planets (0.80, 1.35, 1.57 Earth radii) in a compact configuration with orbital periods […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
Features That Could Be Used to Detect Life-Friendly Climates on Other Worlds
Scientists may have found a way to tell if alien worlds have a climate that is suitable for life by analyzing the light from these worlds for special signatures that […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Exoplanetary Atmospheres: Key Insights, Challenges and Prospects
Exoplanetary science is on the verge of an unprecedented revolution. The thousands of exoplanets discovered over the past decade have most recently been supplemented by discoveries of potentially habitable planets […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Towards a More Complex Description of Chemical Profiles in Exoplanets Retrievals: A 2-layer Parameterisation
State of the art spectral retrieval models of exoplanet atmospheres assume constant chemical profiles with altitude. This assumption is justified by the information content of current datasets which do not […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Imaging Cool Giant Planets in Reflected Light: Science Investigations and Synergy with Habitable Planets
Planned astronomical observatories of the 2020s will be capable of obtaining reflected light photometry and spectroscopy of cool extrasolar giant planets. Here we explain that such data are valuable both […]