Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-06-07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
submitted to the Exoplanet Task Force (AAAC), 2 April 2007
Scientific paper
One of the great quests of astronomy is to obtain the spectrum of a terrestrial planet orbiting within the habitable zone of its star, and the dominant challenge in doing so is to isolate the light of the planet from that of the star. Dynamics-based methods separate these signals temporally, whereas imaging techniques do so spatially. In light of the overwhelming dominance of dynamics-based methods over the past decade, we challenge the notion that spectra of terrestrial planets necessarily require extreme imaging methods. We advocate that some resources be committed to refining the proven technologies of radial-velocity measurements, transit photometry, and occultation spectroscopy (i.e. emergent infrared spectra obtained at secondary eclipse). We see a particularly attractive opportunity in M-dwarfs, for which the habitable zone is close to the star, increasing the probability and frequency of transits, and the amplitude of the induced radial-velocity variation. Such planets could be discovered by a dedicated ground-based transit survey of the 10,000 nearest M-dwarfs. The favorable planet-star contrast ratio would make these planets ideal targets for the study of their atmospheres with the technique of occultation spectroscopy.
Charbonneau David
Deming Drake
No associations
LandOfFree
The Dynamics-Based Approach to Studying Terrestrial Exoplanets does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Dynamics-Based Approach to Studying Terrestrial Exoplanets, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Dynamics-Based Approach to Studying Terrestrial Exoplanets will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-442398