A Search for a Sub-Earth-Sized Companion to GJ 436 and a Novel Method to Calibrate Warm Spitzer IRAC Observations

Details A Search for a Sub-Earth-Sized Companion to GJ 436 and a Novel Method to Calibrate Warm Spitzer IRAC Observations A Search for a Sub-Earth-Sized Companion to GJ 436 and a Novel Method to Calibrate Warm Spitzer IRAC Observations

Jan 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21722004b&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #220.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Scientific paper

We discovered evidence for a possible additional 0.75 REarth transiting planet in the NASA EPOXI observations of the known M dwarf exoplanetary system GJ 436. We performed a subsequent analysis of extant 8 micron observations of GJ 436 from the Spitzer Space Telescope. We found a signal of the predicted depth and at the predicted time, but this signal was dependent on the aperture used to perform the photometry. Based on these suggestive findings, we gathered new warm Spitzer observations at 4.5 microns during a time of predicted transit. The 4.5 micron data allowed us to rule out the putative planet at high confidence. We present a novel method for correcting the intrapixel sensitivity variations of the 3.6 and 4.5 micron channels of the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) instrument on Spitzer, without which method we would not have been sensitive to the transit of a 0.75 REarth planet. Our analysis will inform similar work that will be undertaken to use warm Spitzer observations to confirm rocky planets discovered by the Kepler mission.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

A Search for a Sub-Earth-Sized Companion to GJ 436 and a Novel Method to Calibrate Warm Spitzer IRAC Observations 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 A Search for a Sub-Earth-Sized Companion to GJ 436 and a Novel Method to Calibrate Warm Spitzer IRAC Observations, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Search for a Sub-Earth-Sized Companion to GJ 436 and a Novel Method to Calibrate Warm Spitzer IRAC Observations will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1397703