WASP-121 b Archives - Astrobiology

The radial gas temperature maps of planets from the 3D AFGKM ExoRad with a global temperature, Tglobal of 800K (left), 1600K (center) and 2400K (right) that orbit different host stars (top to bottom: A, G, M). The (Tgas, pgas)-maps gas are shown as equatorial slice plots. -- astro-ph.EP

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report

Accelerating Exoplanet Climate Modelling: A Machine Learning Approach To Complement 3D GCM Grid Simulations

by Keith CowingAugust 15, 2025August 15, 2025

With the development of ever-improving telescopes capable of observing exoplanet atmospheres in greater detail and number, there is a growing demand for enhanced 3D climate models to support and help […]

Cross-correlation signal-to-noise maps of H2O, CO, Fe, and Mg in the atmosphere of WASP-121 b. The dashed vertical and horizontal white lines represent the stellar Vsys (38.12 km s−1, from Line-by-line Artigau et al. 2022) and Kp (216.8 km s−1 , calculated from results in Bourrier et al. 2020) of WASP-121 b, respectively. Tentative signals of H2O, OH, Fe and Mg can be seen near the expected orbital position of WASP-121 b. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Quantifying Thermal Water Dissociation In The Dayside Photosphere Of WASP-121 b Using NIRPS

by Keith CowingAugust 14, 2025August 14, 2025

The intense stellar irradiation of ultra-hot Jupiters results in some of the most extreme atmospheric environments in the planetary regime.

Properties of the atmosphere of WASP-121b. a, PT profiles inferred from the retrieval analysis for the dayside (red) and nightside (blue) atmospheres assuming thermochemical equilibrium. Condensation curves for refractory species are shown as labelled dash-dot lines. b, Normalized contribution functions for the dayside (red) and nightside (blue) atmospheres integrated across the G395H passband, illustrating the relative amount of radiation originating from each pressure level. c, Volume mixing ratios (VMRs) inferred for key molecules in the nightside atmosphere. d, The same as c for the dayside atmosphere. Solid lines in a, c, and d are the median values obtained at each pressure level and the shaded regions indicate the associated 1 sigma uncertainties defined by the 16th and 84th percentiles (68% credible interval) based on n = 1,000 posterior samples. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report

SiO and a Super-stellar C/O Ratio in the Atmosphere of the Giant Exoplanet WASP-121b

by Keith CowingJune 8, 2025June 8, 2025

Refractory elements such as iron, magnesium, and silicon can be detected in the atmospheres of ultrahot giant planets.

JWST GO time allocation for exoplanet science on different Cycles. Representation of the total General Observer (GO) allocated time for exoplanet science on JWST Cycle 1 (released on March, 2021, i.e., pre-launch), Cycle 2 (released on May 2023), Cycle 3 (released on February, 2024) and Cycle 4 (released on March, 2025). The percentage of all telescope time spent on exoplanet science for a given Cycle is indicated on top of this illustration (e.g., Cycle 1 comprised 23% of time on the telescope devoted to exoplanet science). The purple shading corresponds to the share allocated to transiting exoplanet science while the orange shading corresponds to highcontrast exoplanet science performed with JWST. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report

Highlights from Exoplanet Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope

by Keith CowingMay 28, 2025May 28, 2025

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has started a revolution in exoplanetary science.

The combined STIS G430L and G750L spectrum of WASP-39 b (top left), WASP-121 b (top right), WASP-69 b (bottom left), and WASP-17 b (bottom right). Each color (common between planets) corresponds to a different systematics detrending technique, either using linear or GP methods and either between 1-10 PCs or the 10 initial input vectors. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

HST SHEL: Enabling Comparative Exoplanetology with HST/STIS

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2024

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has been our most prolific tool to study exoplanet atmospheres. As the age of JWST begins, there is a wealth of HST archival data that […]

WASP-121 b

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Hubble Observes The Atmosphere Of Exoplanet WASP-121 b Changing Over 3 Years

by Keith CowingJanuary 5, 2024January 5, 2024

The Jupiter-sized planet WASP-121 b is no place to call home. For starters, it orbits very close to a star that is brighter and hotter than the Sun. The planet […]