WASP-43 b Archives - Astrobiology

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.

Cross-correlation SNRs as a function of systemic velocity (Vsys) and Keplerian velocity (Kp) for H2O, CH4, CO2, and CO from the four nights combined. We detect H2O at an SNR of 3.51 but do not detect any carbon-bearing species, although CO may be a tenative detection. The white dashed lines represent the Vsys and Kp values of WASP-43b from the literature (Gaia Collaboration et al. 2018; Bonomo et al. 2017). The red x’s indicate the maximum signal from the literature (Gaia Collaboration et al. 2018; Bonomo et al. 2017). The red x’s indicate the maximum signal from the cross-correlation. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Measurement of the Water Abundance in the Atmosphere of the Hot Jupiter WASP-43b with High-resolution Cross-correlation Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingNovember 28, 2024November 28, 2024

Measuring the abundances of carbon- and oxygen-bearing molecules has been a primary focus in studying the atmospheres of hot Jupiters, as doing so can help constrain the carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio. […]

TOP: An eclipse map fitted to the data in Figure 9, using a model M (ℓmax = 2). Table 2 and Figure 12 show how this model is strongly preferred over the Fourier series model (the null hypothesis) by the cross-validation metric. Hammond et al. (2024) discussed how the structure of this ℓmax = 2 map is limited by its limited spatial freedom. BOTTOM: An eclipse map fitted to the data in Figure 9 using a model M (𝛼 = 4641.6, ℓmax = 4). This value of 𝛼 gives the optimal cross-validation score in Figure 12. We suggest that this value imposes an information content which reflects a combination of the spatial scale of the true map and the level of mapping precision achievable given the precision of the data itself. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Identifying and Fitting Eclipse Maps of Exoplanets with Cross-Validation

by Keith CowingJune 6, 2024June 6, 2024

Eclipse mapping uses the shape of the eclipse of an exoplanet to measure its two-dimensional structure. Light curves are mostly composed of longitudinal information, with the latitudinal information only contained […]

Comparison of dayside thermochemical equilibrium abundances with the chemical abundances retrieved from the MIRI data. The shaded regions represent a range of 1D thermochemical equilibrium models consistent with our estimated metallicity in 3.2. The horizontal error bars show the 1𝜎 credible intervals of our retrieved molecular abundances using the MIRI data. The right edge of the red horizontal arrow shows the 95% upper limit of CH4 abundance retrieved using the MIRI data. Note that the vertical coordinates of the error bars and the arrow are arbitrary. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exploration Gear & Tech, Status Report

Simultaneous Retrieval of Orbital Phase Resolved JWST/MIRI Emission Spectra of the Hot Jupiter WASP-43b: Evidence of Water, Ammonia and Carbon Monoxide

by Keith CowingJune 6, 2024June 6, 2024

Spectroscopic phase curves of hot Jupiters measure their emission spectra at multiple orbital phases, thus enabling detailed characterisation of their atmospheres. Precise constraints on the atmospheric composition of these exoplanets […]

Hot Exoplanet WASP-43b - MPIA

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Clouds Blanket The Night Side Of The Hot Exoplanet WASP-43b

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2024May 1, 2024

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of astronomers, including scientists from MPIA, constructed a global temperature map of the hot, gas giant exoplanet WASP-43b. The nearby parent […]

This artist’s concept shows what the hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-43 b could look like. WASP-43 b is a Jupiter-sized planet that orbits a star roughly 280 light-years away, in the constellation Sextans. The planet orbits at a distance of about 0.014 AU (1.3 million miles), completing one circuit in about 19.5 hours. Because it is so close to its star, WASP-43 b is probably tidally locked: its rotation rate and orbital period are the same, such that one side faces the star at all times. -- ESA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release

Webb Maps Weather On Hot Gas-giant Exoplanet WASP-43b

by Keith CowingApril 30, 2024April 30, 2024

An international team of researchers has successfully used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map the weather on the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b.