L-type and T-type dwarfs span the boundaries between main-sequence stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary-mass objects. For these reasons, L and T dwarfs are the perfect laboratories for exploring the relationship […]
extrasolar planet
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
The L 98-59 System: Three Transiting, Terrestrial-Sized Planets Orbiting a Nearby M-dwarf
We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of three terrestrial-sized planets transiting L 98-59 (TOI-175, TIC 307210830) — a bright M dwarf at a distance of 10.6 pc. […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets
We report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Stellar Activity Effects on Moist Habitable Terrestrial Atmospheres Around M dwarfs
Transit spectroscopy of terrestrial planets around nearby M dwarfs is a primary goal of space missions in coming decades. 3-D climate modeling has shown that slow-synchronous rotating terrestrial planets may […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Thermo-compositional Diabatic Convection in the Atmospheres of Brown Dwarfs and in Earth's Atmosphere and Oceans
By generalizing the theory of convection to any type of thermal and compositional source terms (diabatic processes), we show that thermohaline convection in Earth oceans, fingering convection in stellar atmospheres, […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Cloud Atlas: High-Contrast Time-Resolved Observations of Planetary-Mass Companions
Directly-imaged planetary-mass companions offer unique opportunities in atmospheric studies of exoplanets. They share characteristics of both brown dwarfs and transiting exoplanets, therefore, are critical for connecting atmospheric characterizations for these […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
The Limits of the Primitive Equations of Dynamics for Warm, Slowly Rotating Small Neptunes and Super Earths
We present significant differences in the simulated atmospheric flow for warm, tidally-locked small Neptunes and super Earths (based on a nominal GJ 1214b) when solving the simplified, and commonly used, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
What Magnetic Fields Can Tell Us About Life on Other Planets
Every school kid knows that Earth has a magnetic field — it’s what makes compasses align north-south and lets us navigate the oceans. It also protects the atmosphere, and thus […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Revised Estimates of the Frequency of Earth-like Planets in the Kepler Field
The search for Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars and the evaluation of their occurrence rate is a major topic of research for the exoplanetary community. Two key characteristics in defining […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Atmospheric Characterization of Directly Imaged Exoplanets With JWST/MIRI
The Mid-Infrared instrument (MIRI) on board the James Webb Space Telescope will perform the first ever characterization of young giant exoplanets observed by direct imaging in the 5-28 microns spectral […]