Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...20925303s&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #253.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Of the extrasolar planets detected so far, about 10% consist of giant planets which orbit very close to their parent stars. The atmospheres of these ``hot-Jupiters'' are largely heated by the immense stellar irradiation. In the case of the planet HD209458b, this energy deposition results in a hydrodynamic state in the upper atmosphere, allowing for sizable expansion and escape of neutral hydrogen gas. Here we report the first detection of absorption by hot (n=2) hydrogen in the optical and near-ultraviolet Balmer jump and continuum in any planet. The hot H I signature appears as a short-wavelength absorption 0.030+\-0.006 below the value of 0.9855 calculated from the latest values for the radius of the planet. So far, the lower atmosphere and the full extended upper atmosphere of HD209458b have been observed. This work probes a layer where the escaping gas forms in HD209458b's upper atmosphere, providing a new way to study the atmospheric structure and complex escape processes of extrasolar hot-Jupiters.
Ballester Gilda
Sing David
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