Mapping Exoplanets
Abstract
The varied surfaces and atmospheres of planets make them interesting places to live, explore, and study from afar. Unfortunately, the great distance to exoplanets makes it impossible to resolve their disk with current or near-term technology. It is still possible, however, to deduce spatial inhomogeneities in exoplanets provided that different regions are visible at different times -- this can be due to rotation, orbital motion, and occultations by a star, planet, or moon. Astronomers have so far constructed maps of thermal emission and albedo for short period giant exoplanets. These maps constrain atmospheric dynamics and cloud patterns in exotic atmospheres. In the future, exo-cartography could yield surface maps of terrestrial planets, hinting at the geophysical and geochemical processes that shape them.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1704.07832,
title = {Mapping Exoplanets},
author = {Nicolas B. Cowan and Yuka Fujii},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1704.07832},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
To be published in: Handbook of Exoplanets, 2nd Edition, Hans Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmonte (Eds. in Chief), Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature. 19 pages, including 6 figures and 5 pages of references