GROUND-BASED DIRECT DETECTION of EXOPLANETS with the GEMINI PLANET IMAGER (GPI) James R
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The Discovery of Exoplanets
L'Univers, S´eminairePoincar´eXX (2015) 113 { 137 S´eminairePoincar´e New Worlds Ahead: The Discovery of Exoplanets Arnaud Cassan Universit´ePierre et Marie Curie Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris 98bis boulevard Arago 75014 Paris, France Abstract. Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. In 1995, the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star paved the way to an exoplanet detection rush, which revealed an astonishing diversity of possible worlds. These detections led us to completely renew planet formation and evolu- tion theories. Several detection techniques have revealed a wealth of surprising properties characterizing exoplanets that are not found in our own planetary system. After two decades of exoplanet search, these new worlds are found to be ubiquitous throughout the Milky Way. A positive sign that life has developed elsewhere than on Earth? 1 The Solar system paradigm: the end of certainties Looking at the Solar system, striking facts appear clearly: all seven planets orbit in the same plane (the ecliptic), all have almost circular orbits, the Sun rotation is perpendicular to this plane, and the direction of the Sun rotation is the same as the planets revolution around the Sun. These observations gave birth to the Solar nebula theory, which was proposed by Kant and Laplace more that two hundred years ago, but, although correct, it has been for decades the subject of many debates. In this theory, the Solar system was formed by the collapse of an approximately spheric giant interstellar cloud of gas and dust, which eventually flattened in the plane perpendicular to its initial rotation axis. -
Modeling Super-Earth Atmospheres in Preparation for Upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes
Modeling Super-Earth Atmospheres In Preparation for Upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes Maggie Thompson1 Jonathan Fortney1, Andy Skemer1, Tyler Robinson2, Theodora Karalidi1, Steph Sallum1 1University of California, Santa Cruz, CA; 2Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ ExoPAG 19 January 6, 2019 Seattle, Washington Image Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle Roadmap Research Goals & Current Atmosphere Modeling Selecting Super-Earths for State of Super-Earth Tool (Past & Present) Follow-Up Observations Detection Preliminary Assessment of Future Observatories for Conclusions & Upcoming Instruments’ Super-Earths Future Work Capabilities for Super-Earths M. Thompson — ExoPAG 19 01/06/19 Research Goals • Extend previous modeling tool to simulate super-Earth planet atmospheres around M, K and G stars • Apply modified code to explore the parameter space of actual and synthetic super-Earths to select most suitable set of confirmed exoplanets for follow-up observations with JWST and next-generation ground-based telescopes • Inform the design of advanced instruments such as the Planetary Systems Imager (PSI), a proposed second-generation instrument for TMT/GMT M. Thompson — ExoPAG 19 01/06/19 Current State of Super-Earth Detections (1) Neptune Mass Range of Interest Earth Data from NASA Exoplanet Archive M. Thompson — ExoPAG 19 01/06/19 Current State of Super-Earth Detections (2) A Approximate Habitable Zone Host Star Spectral Type F G K M Data from NASA Exoplanet Archive M. Thompson — ExoPAG 19 01/06/19 Atmosphere Modeling Tool Evolution of Atmosphere Model • Solar System Planets & Moons ~ 1980’s (e.g., McKay et al. 1989) • Brown Dwarfs ~ 2000’s (e.g., Burrows et al. 2001) • Hot Jupiters & Other Giant Exoplanets ~ 2000’s (e.g., Fortney et al. -
PEAS: the PLANET AS EXOPLANET ANALOG SPECTROGRAPH. E. C. Martin1 and A
Exoplanets in our Backyard 2020 (LPI Contrib. No. 2195) 3006.pdf PEAS: THE PLANET AS EXOPLANET ANALOG SPECTROGRAPH. E. C. Martin1 and A. J. Skemer1, 1Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA ([email protected]) Introduction: Exoplanets are abundant in our Galaxy • Produce 2D surface maps of Venus, Mars, Jupi- and yet characterizing them remains a technical chal- ter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune lenGe. Solar System planets provide an opportunity to • Produce fiducial measurements that will be used test the practical limitations of exoplanet observations to plan instruments for future exoplanet mis- with hiGh siGnal-to-noise data, and ancillary data (such sions, such as HabEx/LUVOIR and TMT. as 2D maps and in situ measurements) that we cannot Long term: access for exoplanets. However, data on Solar System • Time-series observations of Solar System plan- planets differ from exoplanets in that Solar System ets to explore variability and weather patterns planets are spatially resolved while exoplanets are all on planets unresolved point-sources. • Comparison to historical data (e.g. [4]) There have been several recent efforts to validate techniques for interpreting exoplanet observations by • Study planetary seismoloGy (oscillation modes) binning images of Solar System planets to a single of Solar System planets pixel: For example, Cowan et al. [1] used images from the EPOXI mission to study Earth’s Globally averaGed PEAS Instrument Design Planetary light collect- properties as it rotated; MayorGa et al. [2] used data ed by the telescope will be split into a spectroGraph from the Cassini spacecraft’s fly-by of Jupiter to ob- system and an imaGinG system for simultaneous obser- serve Globally averaGed reflected liGht phase curves; vations. -
The Exoplanet Revolution
FEATURES THE EXOPLANET REVOLUTION l Yamila Miguel – Leiden Observatory, Leiden, The Netherlands – DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/epn/2019506 Hot Jupiters, super-Earths, lava-worlds and the search for life beyond our solar system: the exoplanet revolution started almost 30 years ago and is now taking off. re there other planets like the Earth out discovered the astonishing number of 4000 exoplanets, there? This is probably one of the oldest and counting. Every new discovery shows an amazing questions of humanity. For centuries and diversity that impacts in the perception and understand- Auntil the 90s, we only knew of the existence ing of our own solar system. of 8 planets. But today we live in a privileged time. For the first time in history we know that there are other How to find exoplanets? planets orbiting distant stars. Finding exoplanets is an extremely difficult task. These The first planet orbiting a star similar to the Sun was planets shine mostly due to the reflection of the stellar . Artist’s impression discovered in 1995 -only 24 years ago- and it started light in their atmospheres and their light is incredibly of COROT-7b. a revolution in Astronomy. Today astronomers have weak compared to that of their host stars. For this reason, © ESO/L. Calçada EPN 50/5&6 41 FEATURES THE Exoplanet REVolution observing exoplanets directly is extremely difficult and allows astronomers to calculate the planet’s density, astronomers had to develop indirect techniques that infer important to start assessing planetary compositions the presence of the planet. and diversity. Two of the most successful techniques to discov- er exoplanets are the "Transits" and "Radial Veloci- The Exoplanet Zoo ties" techniques. -
Gemini Planet Imager Spectroscopy of the Dusty Substellar Companion HD 206893 B
The Astronomical Journal, 161:5 (24pp), 2021 January https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/abc263 © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Gemini Planet Imager Spectroscopy of the Dusty Substellar Companion HD206893B K. Ward-Duong1,2 , J. Patience2, K. Follette3 , R. J. De Rosa4,5 , J. Rameau6,7 , M. Marley8 , D. Saumon9 , E. L. Nielsen4 , A. Rajan10 , A. Z. Greenbaum11 , J. Lee12, J. J. Wang13,14,40 , I. Czekala4,14,41 , G. Duchêne6,14 , B. Macintosh4 , S. Mark Ammons15 , V. P. Bailey16 , T. Barman17 , J. Bulger18,19 , C. Chen10 , J. Chilcote4,20 , T. Cotten12 , R. Doyon7, T. M. Esposito14 , M. P. Fitzgerald21 , B. L. Gerard22,23 , S. J. Goodsell24 , J. R. Graham14, P. Hibon5 , J. Hom2 , L.-W. Hung25 , P. Ingraham26 , P. Kalas14,27 , Q. Konopacky28 , J. E. Larkin21 , J. Maire28, F. Marchis27 , C. Marois23,29 , S. Metchev30,31 , M. A. Millar-Blanchaer16,42 , R. Oppenheimer32 , D. Palmer15 , M. Perrin10 , L. Poyneer15, L. Pueyo10, F. T. Rantakyrö33 , B. Ren34 , J.-B. Ruffio4 , D. Savransky35 , A. C. Schneider36,37 , A. Sivaramakrishnan10 , I. Song12 , R. Soummer10 , M. Tallis4, S. Thomas26 , J. Kent Wallace16 , S. Wiktorowicz38 , and S. Wolff39 1 Five College Astronomy Department, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, USA; [email protected] 2 School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA 3 Physics & Astronomy Department, Amherst College, 21 Merrill Science Drive, Amherst, MA 01002, USA 4 Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA 5 European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile 6 Univ. -
Biosignatures Search in Habitable Planets
galaxies Review Biosignatures Search in Habitable Planets Riccardo Claudi 1,* and Eleonora Alei 1,2 1 INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova, Vicolo Osservatorio, 5, 35122 Padova, Italy 2 Physics and Astronomy Department, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 2 August 2019; Accepted: 25 September 2019; Published: 29 September 2019 Abstract: The search for life has had a new enthusiastic restart in the last two decades thanks to the large number of new worlds discovered. The about 4100 exoplanets found so far, show a large diversity of planets, from hot giants to rocky planets orbiting small and cold stars. Most of them are very different from those of the Solar System and one of the striking case is that of the super-Earths, rocky planets with masses ranging between 1 and 10 M⊕ with dimensions up to twice those of Earth. In the right environment, these planets could be the cradle of alien life that could modify the chemical composition of their atmospheres. So, the search for life signatures requires as the first step the knowledge of planet atmospheres, the main objective of future exoplanetary space explorations. Indeed, the quest for the determination of the chemical composition of those planetary atmospheres rises also more general interest than that given by the mere directory of the atmospheric compounds. It opens out to the more general speculation on what such detection might tell us about the presence of life on those planets. As, for now, we have only one example of life in the universe, we are bound to study terrestrial organisms to assess possibilities of life on other planets and guide our search for possible extinct or extant life on other planetary bodies. -
Exploring Exoplanet Populations with NASA's Kepler Mission
SPECIAL FEATURE: PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE SPECIAL FEATURE: Exploring exoplanet populations with NASA’s Kepler Mission Natalie M. Batalha1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, 94035 CA Edited by Adam S. Burrows, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, and accepted by the Editorial Board June 3, 2014 (received for review January 15, 2014) The Kepler Mission is exploring the diversity of planets and planetary systems. Its legacy will be a catalog of discoveries sufficient for computing planet occurrence rates as a function of size, orbital period, star type, and insolation flux.The mission has made significant progress toward achieving that goal. Over 3,500 transiting exoplanets have been identified from the analysis of the first 3 y of data, 100 planets of which are in the habitable zone. The catalog has a high reliability rate (85–90% averaged over the period/radius plane), which is improving as follow-up observations continue. Dynamical (e.g., velocimetry and transit timing) and statistical methods have confirmed and characterized hundreds of planets over a large range of sizes and compositions for both single- and multiple-star systems. Population studies suggest that planets abound in our galaxy and that small planets are particularly frequent. Here, I report on the progress Kepler has made measuring the prevalence of exoplanets orbiting within one astronomical unit of their host stars in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin- istration’s long-term goal of finding habitable environments beyond the solar system. planet detection | transit photometry Searching for evidence of life beyond Earth is the Sun would produce an 84-ppm signal Translating Kepler’s discovery catalog into one of the primary goals of science agencies lasting ∼13 h. -
1 Director's Message
1 Director’s Message Markus Kissler-Patig 3 Weighing the Black Hole in M101 ULX-1 Stephen Justham and Jifeng Liu 8 World’s Most Powerful Planet Finder Turns its Eye to the Sky: First Light with the Gemini Planet Imager Bruce Macintosh and Peter Michaud 12 Science Highlights Nancy A. Levenson 15 Operations Corner: Update and 2013 Review Andy Adamson 20 Instrumentation Development: Update and 2013 Review Scot Kleinman ON THE COVER: GeminiFocus January 2014 The cover of this issue GeminiFocus is a quarterly publication of Gemini Observatory features first light images from the Gemini 670 N. A‘ohoku Place, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 USA Planet Imager that Phone: (808) 974-2500 Fax: (808) 974-2589 were released at the Online viewing address: January 2014 meeting www.gemini.edu/geminifocus of the American Managing Editor: Peter Michaud Astronomical Society Science Editor: Nancy A. Levenson held in Washington, D.C. Associate Editor: Stephen James O’Meara See the press release Designer: Eve Furchgott / Blue Heron Multimedia that accompanied the images starting on Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations page 8 of this issue. expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Markus Kissler-Patig Director’s Message 2013: A Successful Year for Gemini! As 2013 comes to an end, we can look back at 12 very successful months for Gemini despite strong budget constraints. Indeed, 2013 was the first stage of our three-year transition to a reduced opera- tions budget, and it was marked by a roughly 20 percent cut in contributions from Gemini’s partner countries. -
Another Earth in the Universe
Home / Space/ Special reports Another Earth in the Universe A world similar to the Earth Finally the news we were waiting for, for so long, has arrived. It was only a matter of time. NASA’s Kepler Telescope, has discovered the first Earth-sized extrasolar planet, orbiting in the habitable zone, a region around a star where water in the liquid state can be found. Artist’s concept of Kepler-186f, the exoplanet similar to the Earth discovered with NASA’s Kepler telescope. Credits: Wikipedia The Earth’s “cousin” planet is called Kepler-186f, it is about 500 light years from the Earth, in the constellation of Cygnus. It has been called Kepler-186f because it was discovered with the Kepler telescope, rotating around the star Kepler-186 and is part of a system of five planets (Kepler-186b, Kepler-186c, Kepler-186d, Kepler-186e and Kepler-186f). The Kepler satellite had already discovered various planets orbiting in the habitable zone, however they were all larger, at least 40% larger than the Earth. Image of the planetary system of Kepler-186, which consists of five planets orbiting around the star, Kepler-186. The first four planets have an orbital period of 4,7, 13 and 22 days respectively and are all too hot for life to exist. Kepler-186f has an orbital period of 130 days. Credits: NASA Home / Space/ Special reports The planet system of Kepler-186 instead, consists of five planets; four inner planets, smaller than half our planet, and Kepler-186f, approximately 40% larger than the Earth. -
Exoplanet Meteorology: Characterizing the Atmospheres Of
Exoplanet Meteorology: Characterizing the Atmospheres of Directly Imaged Sub-Stellar Objects by Abhijith Rajan A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved April 2017 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Jennifer Patience, Co-Chair Patrick Young, Co-Chair Paul Scowen Nathaniel Butler Evgenya Shkolnik ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2017 ©2017 Abhijith Rajan All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The field of exoplanet science has matured over the past two decades with over 3500 confirmed exoplanets. However, many fundamental questions regarding the composition, and formation mechanism remain unanswered. Atmospheres are a window into the properties of a planet, and spectroscopic studies can help resolve many of these questions. For the first part of my dissertation, I participated in two studies of the atmospheres of brown dwarfs to search for weather variations. To understand the evolution of weather on brown dwarfs we conducted a multi- epoch study monitoring four cool brown dwarfs to search for photometric variability. These cool brown dwarfs are predicted to have salt and sulfide clouds condensing in their upper atmosphere and we detected one high amplitude variable. Combining observations for all T5 and later brown dwarfs we note a possible correlation between variability and cloud opacity. For the second half of my thesis, I focused on characterizing the atmospheres of directly imaged exoplanets. In the first study Hubble Space Telescope data on HR8799, in wavelengths unobservable from the ground, provide constraints on the presence of clouds in the outer planets. Next, I present research done in collaboration with the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) team including an exploration of the instrument contrast against environmental parameters, and an examination of the environment of the planet in the HD 106906 system. -
New Instrumentation for the Gemini Telescopes
June2007 by Joseph Jensen New Instrumentation for the Gemini Telescopes o produce forefront science and continue to (GPI), and the Precision Radial Velocity Spectrometer, compete in the global marketplace of astronomy, (PRVS)–have been designed explicitly to find and study TGemini Observatory must constantly update its extrasolar planets. The Wide-field Fiber Multi-Object instrument suite. A new generation of instruments is now Spectrometer (WFMOS) will provide a revolutionary nearing completion. The Near-Infrared Coronagraphic new capability to study the formation and evolution of Imager (NICI) was recently delivered to Gemini the Milky Way Galaxy and millions of others like it, South, and the near-infrared multi-object spectrograph reaching back to the earliest times of galaxy formation. FLAMINGOS-2 should arrive at Cerro Pachón later WFMOS will also shed light on the mysterious dark this year. Gemini staff members are integrating the energy that is responsible for the accelerating expansion Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) system in of the universe, counteracting the force of gravity on Chile now, and the Gemini South Adaptive Optics the largest scales. Finally, the Ground-Layer Adaptive Imager (GSAOI) is already there, waiting to sample Optics (GLAO) capability being explored for Gemini the exquisite images MCAO will deliver. At Gemini North will improve our vision across a large enough North, the visiting mid-infrared echelle spectrograph field of view to explore the first luminous objects in the TEXES will join the Gemini collection again for a few universe, along with practically everything else as well. weeks in semester 2007B as a guest instrument. The new instruments, along with the existing collection of The Aspen instruments build on pathfinding projects facility instruments, will propel Gemini towards the being started now using existing Gemini instruments lofty science goals outlined in Aspen, Colorado nearly like the Near-InfraRed Imager (NIRI) and Near-Infrared four years ago. -
Exoplanet Exploration Collaboration Initiative TP Exoplanets Final Report
EXO Exoplanet Exploration Collaboration Initiative TP Exoplanets Final Report Ca Ca Ca H Ca Fe Fe Fe H Fe Mg Fe Na O2 H O2 The cover shows the transit of an Earth like planet passing in front of a Sun like star. When a planet transits its star in this way, it is possible to see through its thin layer of atmosphere and measure its spectrum. The lines at the bottom of the page show the absorption spectrum of the Earth in front of the Sun, the signature of life as we know it. Seeing our Earth as just one possibly habitable planet among many billions fundamentally changes the perception of our place among the stars. "The 2014 Space Studies Program of the International Space University was hosted by the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) and the École des Hautes études commerciales (HEC), Montréal, Québec, Canada." While all care has been taken in the preparation of this report, ISU does not take any responsibility for the accuracy of its content. Electronic copies of the Final Report and the Executive Summary can be downloaded from the ISU Library website at http://isulibrary.isunet.edu/ International Space University Strasbourg Central Campus Parc d’Innovation 1 rue Jean-Dominique Cassini 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden Tel +33 (0)3 88 65 54 30 Fax +33 (0)3 88 65 54 47 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.isunet.edu France Unless otherwise credited, figures and images were created by TP Exoplanets. Exoplanets Final Report Page i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The International Space University Summer Session Program 2014 and the work on the