Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007hst..prop11495h&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #11495. Cycle 16
Physics
Scientific paper
We request NICMOS grism spectroscopy to observe the transit of WASP-3b. This newly discovered planet is the hottest nearby planet discovered so far. The atmosphere is predicted to be so hot that TiO and VO remain in the gas phase, creating a hot, strongly absorbing stratosphere. This molecular absorption will cause a 6% enhancement in the transit depth at 0.8 microns, compared to that at 1.3 microns. NICMOS/G096 and NICMOS/G141 observations will therefore provide a straightforward test of the hot stratosphere hypothesis. The HST observations will provide a precisely determined radius measurement. This is required to drive advances in theories of planetary formation, evolution, and atmospheric physics and chemistry. The atmospheric TiO and VO absorption is predicted to cause an anomalously high IR brightness temperature for the planet. We need HST's direct test of the hot stratosphere hypothesis promptly to enable appropriate cold-Spitzer observations to be planned and interpreted. Spitzer is likely to exhaust its cryogens before these observations could be scheduled via the cycle 17 GO process.;
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