TRAPPIST-1 b Archives

Phase folded JWST/MIRI observations of TRAPPIST-1 b. a. Phase-folded light curve of the secondary eclipse of TRAPPIST-1 b at 12.8 µm, derived from the observations of 5 eclipses as part of GTO 1279 observations. b. Phase-folded light curve of the secondary eclipse of TRAPPIST-1 b at 15 µm, derived from re-analyses of the observations of 5 eclipses as part of GTO 1177. These figures are derived from the “fiducial analysis” described in the Methods. Blue dots corresponds the corrected flux at the original time sampling, black dots shows the 10min binned corrected flux with an error equal to the standard deviation of the points within the bin, and the red curve show the eclipse model. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Combined Analysis of the 12.8 and 15 μm JWST/MIRI Eclipse Observations of TRAPPIST-1 b

by Keith CowingDecember 18, 2024December 18, 2024

The first JWST/MIRI photometric observations of TRAPPIST-1 b allowed for the detection of the thermal emission of the planet at 15 μm, suggesting that the planet could be a bare […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

The Light Of TRAPPIST-1 b Reveals New Insights On The Planet’s Nature

by Keith CowingDecember 16, 2024December 16, 2024

New TRAPPIST-1 observations with JWST underscore the complexities of confirming a planet’s atmosphere using only broadband thermal emission data. This insight takes on added significance with the newly approved “Rocky […]

Regime diagram for high molecular weight escape in terms of the polytropic index 0.65 ≤ γ ≤ 0.95 and the hydrodynamic escape parameter 10 ≤ λ0 ≤ 400. The heat map indicates the ratio of sonic to base temperatures 10 − 100. Contours of uniform ratio of sonic to base radius (red-dashed) and uniform sonic to base density in log units (green dashed). The Young Sun Earth (c.f. Figures 4 & 8B) and Young Sun Mars (see Figures 5 & 8A) calculations are represented by images of each planet. This figure can be compared to the solution space of polytropic solutions (Fig 3). For large enough λ0, the polytropic model of steep XUV inversions breaks down because line cooling will begin to dominate over advection. The overlaying pink patch is to illustrate that the shift is broad and dependent on boundary conditions and dimensional parameters. Rightward of the transition, the collisional radiative thermostat will control the resulting global ion outflow (see Section 5). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Novel Physics of Escaping Secondary Atmospheres May Shape the Cosmic Shoreline

by Keith CowingDecember 9, 2024December 9, 2024

Recent James Webb Space Telescope observations of cool, rocky exoplanets reveal a probable lack of thick atmospheres, suggesting prevalent escape of the secondary atmospheres formed after losing primordial hydrogen.

Quiescent stellar spectrum (blue), superflare peak spectrum (green; blackbody with 9000 K), and total spectrum (black) scaled to the orbit of TRAPPIST-1 𝑒. The Kepler transmission curve is shown in red, and the relevant UV ranges as gray shaded areas. -- MNRAS

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

An Experimental Study Of The Biological Impact Of A Superflare On The TRAPPIST-1 Planets

by Keith CowingNovember 8, 2024November 8, 2024

In the present study, we conducted experiments to assess the biological effects of high fluences of UV radiation (UVR) on the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system (planets e, f, g within the […]

Comparison of the TRAPPIST-1 system to our inner solar system -- NASA (larger image)

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Drifts Of The Sub-stellar Points Of The TRAPPIST-1 Planets

by Keith CowingSeptember 19, 2024September 19, 2024

Accurate modeling of tidal interactions is crucial for interpreting recent JWST observations of the thermal emissions of TRAPPIST-1~b and c and for characterizing the surface conditions and potential habitability of […]

Joining of the inner and outer subsystems. The evolution of the semi-major axes is shown with continuous coloured lines for all planets, which are also labelled by circles whose size reflect the observed size of the planets. In our favoured scenario, planet e followed the inner edge while planets b, c and d were in the inner cavity. Planets f, g and h join the system later, undergoing inward disc-driven migration (the disc is depicted by the top shaded area, with the lighter shading on the right indicating that the disc will eventually disperse). Since planet g is more massive than f and h, it is likely to capture f in resonance (the 4:3 being the favoured commensurability [5]) and the two planets migrate in together. When f reaches the 3:2 resonance with e, the combined push from g-f is sufficient to dislodge planet e from the inner edge (shown as a blue line enclosing the top shaded area). Driven by a full OLT, the orbit of planet e decays faster than f and g, approaching the 3:2 resonance with d. Planet h is the last one to migrate in and capture g in the 3:2 resonance to complete the chain. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Forming The Trappist-1 System In Two Steps During The Recession Of The Disc Inner Edge

by Keith CowingAugust 27, 2024August 27, 2024

Trappist-1 hosts 7 planets where period ratios of neighbouring pairs are close to the 8:5, 5:3, 3:2, 3:2, 4:3, and 3:2 ratios in increasing distance from the star. The Laplace […]

Joint constraints on the H2/He abundance and the atmospheric pressure on TRAPPIST-1 b resulting from the sequential fit of the stellar contamination and planetary atmosphere. The color shading illustrates the posterior probability density, where darker colors correspond to higher probabilities. Contours indicate the 1σ, 2σ, and 3σ Bayesian credible regions. The displayed posterior probability is marginalized over the H2O, CH4, CO, CO2, NH3, and N2 abundances. Hydrogen-dominated scenarios with high-altitude clouds are at the top left corner of the plot and cloud-free, volatile-rich, high-mean-molecular-mass atmospheres are at the bottom right. Any hydrogen-rich atmospheres without high-altitude clouds, at the bottom left, are robustly ruled out. The second horizontal axis at the top shows the mean molecular mass representative for a pure H2/H2O atmosphere. -- The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release

JWST’s First Spectrum Of TRAPPIST-1 b

by Keith CowingMay 18, 2024May 18, 2024

In a solar system called TRAPPIST-1, 40 light years from the sun, seven Earth-sized planets revolve around a cold star.

Oxygen retention efficiency as a function of initial water content in TO. Top Row: Interior planets, T1-b, c, and d. Bottom Row: Outer planets, T1-e, f, g, and h. Coloring shows the percentage of simulations at a particular initial water content that fell in a given oxygen retention efficiency bin (e.g., each column corresponds to one initial water content and sums to 100%). Contours are given for the 50th percentile values (solid white lines) and the 1σ confidence region (dashed white lines). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

The Implications of Thermal Hydrodynamic Atmospheric Escape on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets

by Keith CowingMay 7, 2024May 7, 2024

JWST observations of the 7-planet TRAPPIST-1 system will provide an excellent opportunity to test outcomes of stellar-driven evolution of terrestrial planetary atmospheres, including atmospheric escape, ocean loss and abiotic oxygen […]

An artistic representation of the “hot Saturn” exoplanet, HAT-P-18 b. CREDIT NASA/Eyes on Exoplanets - NASA

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

Hot Saturn Exoplanet HAT-P-18 b And Its Parent Star

by Keith CowingJanuary 11, 2024January 10, 2024

Led by researchers from Université de Montréal’s Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx), a team of astronomers has harnessed the power of the revolutionary James Webb Space Webb Telescope […]

Broadband light curves of the flare-affected transits of TRAPPIST-1b and f. The transit models are shown in orange, and the exponential fit to the integrations in both the transit and flare is shown in blue. The exponential fit is necessary to determine the shape of the transit light curve. As shown in the O-C diagrams at the bottom, we use an initial guess of c1 and c2 to fit the exponential, then subtract the exponential to obtain final values of c1 and c2. We note c1 and c2 represent the coefficients of the quadratic limb darkening equation. The first and third O-C diagrams are directly comparable and show the light curve with the final transit model removed. The middle O-C diagram shows an intermediate step in the determination of the TRAPPIST-1f transit model fit in which the initial guess on the transit model is subtracted prior to fitting and subtracting the exponential. The residuals of the middle panel therefore show the quality of the exponential fit. -- astro-ph.SR

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Characterizing The Near-infrared Spectra Of Flares From TRAPPIST-1 During JWST Transit Spectroscopy Observations

by Keith CowingOctober 9, 2023October 9, 2023

We present the first analysis of JWST near-infrared spectroscopy of stellar flares from TRAPPIST-1 during transits of rocky exoplanets. Four flares were observed from 0.6–2.8 μm with NIRISS and 0.6–3.5 […]

TRAPPIST-1 b

Combined Analysis of the 12.8 and 15 μm JWST/MIRI Eclipse Observations of TRAPPIST-1 b

The Light Of TRAPPIST-1 b Reveals New Insights On The Planet’s Nature

Novel Physics of Escaping Secondary Atmospheres May Shape the Cosmic Shoreline

An Experimental Study Of The Biological Impact Of A Superflare On The TRAPPIST-1 Planets

Drifts Of The Sub-stellar Points Of The TRAPPIST-1 Planets

Forming The Trappist-1 System In Two Steps During The Recession Of The Disc Inner Edge

JWST’s First Spectrum Of TRAPPIST-1 b

The Implications of Thermal Hydrodynamic Atmospheric Escape on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets

Hot Saturn Exoplanet HAT-P-18 b And Its Parent Star

Characterizing The Near-infrared Spectra Of Flares From TRAPPIST-1 During JWST Transit Spectroscopy Observations

Roman Space Telescope: Enabling Images Of Distant Worlds

NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Cooperative Agreement Notice (NNH26ZDA016C) Final Text And Due Dates

Interstellar Aromatic Infrared Bands: IR Absorption Spectroscopy Of The Lowest Triplet State Of Naphthalene

The Highly Unusual Behavior And Chemical Composition Of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Volatile Depletion In Rocky Planets As A Chemical Fingerprint Of Hybrid Accretion