TRAPPIST-1e Archives

An equatorial slices showing the solar/stellar wind solution for Trappist-1e (left column) and for solar Carrington Rotation 1916 (right column). Color contours are of magnetic field strength (top) and number density (bottom). Also shown is the orbit of Trappist-1e at 0.028AU and the hypothetical orbits at 0.05AU and 0.1AU as solid black circles. Selected magnetic field lines are shown in grey. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Heating of the Atmospheres of Short-orbit Exoplanets by Their Rapid Orbital Motion Through an Extreme Space Environment

by Keith CowingJanuary 29, 2024January 29, 2024

Exoplanets with short orbit period reside very close to their host stars. They transition very rapidly between different sectors of the circumstellar space environment along their orbit, leading to large […]

Upper left panel: Comparison of our work to the model results of Mikal-Evans (2022) who assumed a cloud-less Archean-Earth. Grey shading indicated the wavelength range of the figure below. Lower left panel: The transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1e observed with HST/WFC3 during two different transits (see Zhang et al. 2018). The green lines show our wet alive model results during the Carrington-like event (solid lines - scenario [5], dashed lines - scenario [6]), while the blue lines correspond to the Archean-Earth scenario of Mikal-Evans (2022). Right panel: Comparison of the corresponding assumed atmospheric temperature profiles. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Impact of Cosmic Rays on Atmospheric Ion Chemistry and Spectral Transmission Features of TRAPPIST-1e

by Keith CowingNovember 10, 2023November 10, 2023

Ongoing observing projects like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and future missions offer the chance to characterize Earth-like exoplanetary atmospheres. Thereby, M-dwarfs are preferred targets for transit observations, for […]

The transmission spectrum atmospheric effective altitude is plotted against wavelength between 0.2 µm and 11 µm for the P19 PI (orange), P19 10% PAL (brown), P19 1% PAL (yellow), and P19 0.1% PAL (red) simulations, and the W21 PI (light blue), W21 10% PAL (blue), W21 1% PAL (lilac), and W21 0.1% PAL (grey) simulations. The non-tidally locked cases are excluded for clarity, but show little differences compared to the equivalent tidally locked case. The transit depth, in terms of contrast with respect to the star, is indicated on the right vertical axis in parts per million (ppm). The spectra are binned to a spectral resolving power of R = 250. Spectral features are indicated in grey. The wavelength range of the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO; blue shaded region), and that of the JWST NIRSpec instrument (yellow shaded region), are shown. They overlap in the green shaded region. The wavelength range of the JWST MIRI instrument is indicated in the magenta shaded region. The wavelength spacing between 0.2 – 1 µm is changed between 1 – 11 µm in order to clearly show the UV and visible regions. The black bar represents the uncertainty that would be present on a measurement that has reached the noise floor of the instrument, where the noise floor is indicated as 5 ppm. Note this error bar is an estimate of the performance of the telescope and does not indicate a measurement. -- astro-ph.EP

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

Degenerate Interpretations Of O3 Spectral Features In Exoplanet Atmosphere Observations Due To Stellar UV Uncertainties: A 3D Case Study With TRAPPIST-1e

by Keith CowingOctober 1, 2023October 1, 2023

TRAPPIST-1e is a potentially habitable terrestrial exoplanet orbiting an ultra-cool M Dwarf star and is a key target for observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). One-dimensional photochemical modelling […]

Earth’s observed cloud-free transit transmission spectrum from Macdonald & Cowan (2019) binned to a resolution of ∆λ = 0.02 µm and fit using smarter. The data are shown in black, the best-fitting model (Model 1) spectrum is shown in white and blue, and various colors are used to indicate each molecule’s contribution to the model spectrum. The most prominent features are due to CO2 and O3, but a rich diversity of habitability indicators, biosignatures, and technosignatures are present. -- astro-ph.EP

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

Earth As A Transiting Exoplanet: A Validation Of Transmission Spectroscopy And Atmospheric Retrieval Methodologies For Terrestrial Exoplanets

by Keith CowingAugust 29, 2023August 29, 2023

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will enable the search for and characterization of terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres in the habitable zone via transmission spectroscopy.

Top: Top-of-atmosphere number flux from the Sun and TRAPPIST-1 (left y-axis). Also co-plotted are the photolysis cross-sections of CO2 (right abscissa). Bottom: CO2 cross-sections weighted by the stellar emission of TRAPPIST-1 and the Sun. The bluer spectrum of TRAPPIST-1 increases the weight of shortwave σCO2 , which is larger, driving an increase in σUV,g. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report

A Re-Appraisal of CO/O2 Runaway On Habitable Planets Orbiting Low-Mass Stars

by Keith CowingJuly 19, 2023July 19, 2023

Efforts to spectrally characterize the atmospheric compositions of temperate terrestrial exoplanets orbiting M-dwarf stars with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are now underway. Key molecular targets of such searches […]

Median temperature (K) differences between high and low pCO2 scenarios and median wind speeds (m s−1) for each scenario for Earth-like (a, c) and TRAPPIST-1e (b, d) ExoCAM simulations at (a, b) upper and (c, d) near-surface levels. Black and green quivers represent the high and low pCO2 scenarios, respectively. Using the Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test, lime and magenta-filled contours for wind speed and temperature represent areas not statistically significant at the 5% level, respectively. -- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

Greenhouse Gas Supplement Increases Warming And Alters Circulation Patterns On Earth and Earth-like Exoplanets

by Keith CowingJuly 13, 2023July 13, 2023

With the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the study of exoplanetary atmospheres and their potential habitability reached new heights. A team of researchers led by Dr. Assaf […]

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

Analogous Response Of Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets And Earth’s Climate Dynamics To Greenhouse Gas Supplement

by Keith CowingJuly 6, 2023July 6, 2023

Humanity is close to characterizing the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets due to the advent of JWST. These astronomical observations motivate us to understand exoplanetary atmospheres to constrain habitability.

Time-mean vertically-integrated cloud water amount (including both liquid and ice) simulated by the three models. Left panels are for TRAPPIST-1e, and right panels are for K2-72e. The global-mean values are listed in the top left corner of each panel. The red cross marks the substellar point. The blue dashed line is the morning terminator and the blue dotted line is the evening terminator, used for transmission spectra calculations (Fig. 6 below). SAM has less total cloud water path. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Cloud Behaviour On Tidally Locked Rocky Planets From Global High-resolution Modeling

by Keith CowingJune 21, 2023June 21, 2023

Determining the behaviour of convection and clouds is one of the biggest challenges in our understanding of exoplanetary climates.

Reproduced from Rimmer et al. (2021b). Primary spectral features of a selection of prebiosignature molecules at JWST-probable wavelengths. The icons represent major physical and geochemical sources of the molecules, with primary prebiosignatures being directly associated with prebiotic chemistry. The species included are carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), sulfur dioxide (SO2), imidazole (C3N2H4), cyanamide (CH2N2), nitric oxide (NO), methane (CH4), acetylene (C2H2), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). We include all of these except imidazole and cyanamide in our study. We also investigate ammonia and formaldehyde as potential prebiosignatures. Transparency indicates the strength of the features, with weaker features being more transparent. CME = Coronal Mass Ejection. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Prebiosignature Molecules Can Be Detected In Temperate Exoplanet Atmospheres With JWST

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2023June 5, 2023

The search for biosignatures on exoplanets connects the fields of biology and biochemistry to astronomical observation, with the hope that we might detect evidence of active biological processes on worlds […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

GCM Constraints On The Detectability Of The CO2-CH4 Biosignature Pair On TRAPPIST-1e With JWST

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2022December 11, 2022

Terrestrial exoplanets such as TRAPPIST-1e will be observed in a new capacity with JWST/NIRSpec, which is expected to be able to detect CO2, CH4, and O2 signals, if present, with […]

TRAPPIST-1e

Heating of the Atmospheres of Short-orbit Exoplanets by Their Rapid Orbital Motion Through an Extreme Space Environment

Impact of Cosmic Rays on Atmospheric Ion Chemistry and Spectral Transmission Features of TRAPPIST-1e

Degenerate Interpretations Of O3 Spectral Features In Exoplanet Atmosphere Observations Due To Stellar UV Uncertainties: A 3D Case Study With TRAPPIST-1e

Earth As A Transiting Exoplanet: A Validation Of Transmission Spectroscopy And Atmospheric Retrieval Methodologies For Terrestrial Exoplanets

A Re-Appraisal of CO/O2 Runaway On Habitable Planets Orbiting Low-Mass Stars

Greenhouse Gas Supplement Increases Warming And Alters Circulation Patterns On Earth and Earth-like Exoplanets

Analogous Response Of Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets And Earth’s Climate Dynamics To Greenhouse Gas Supplement

Cloud Behaviour On Tidally Locked Rocky Planets From Global High-resolution Modeling

Prebiosignature Molecules Can Be Detected In Temperate Exoplanet Atmospheres With JWST

GCM Constraints On The Detectability Of The CO2-CH4 Biosignature Pair On TRAPPIST-1e With JWST

Survival and Detectability of Mars-Derived Organic Carbon in Phobos Regolith: A Quantitative Hardness Taxonomy for MMX Sample Analysis

Lava World Recon: Juno Studies Io’s Volcanoes

New Exomoon Detection Challenges Cosmic Labels

Discrimination of Tectonic, Swarm And Impact-related Marsquakes Using Spectral Characteristics

Mapping Alien Continents: Achieving Optical VLBI For Exoplanet Imaging