Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2009-08-27
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Scientific paper
Using the NICMOS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have measured the dayside spectrum of HD 209458b between 1.5--2.5 microns. The emergent spectrum is dominated by features due to the presence of methane (CH4) and water vapor (H2O), with smaller contributions from carbon dioxide (CO2). Combining this near-infrared spectrum with existing mid-infrared measurements shows the existence of a temperature inversion and confirms the interpretation of previous photometry measurements. We find a family of plausible solutions for the molecular abundance and detailed temperature profile. Observationally resolving the ambiguity between abundance and temperature requires either (1) improved wavelength coverage or spectral resolution of the dayside emission spectrum, or (2) a transmission spectrum where abundance determinations are less sensitive to the temperature structure.
Angerhausen Daniel
Bouwman Jeroen
Brown Raymon L.
Burrows Adam
Chen Pin
No associations
LandOfFree
Water, Methane, and Carbon Dioxide Present in the Dayside Spectrum of the Exoplanet HD 209458b 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 Water, Methane, and Carbon Dioxide Present in the Dayside Spectrum of the Exoplanet HD 209458b, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Water, Methane, and Carbon Dioxide Present in the Dayside Spectrum of the Exoplanet HD 209458b will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-411677