Related papers: Detection of methane on Kuiper Belt Object (50000)…
Spectropolarimetry is a powerful technique that has provided critical support for the geometric unification model of local active galactic nuclei. In this paper, we present optical (rest-frame UV) Keck spectropolarimetry of five luminous…
If quark stars exist, they may be enveloped in thin electron layers (electron seas), which uniformly surround the entire star. These layers will be affected by the magnetic fields of quark stars in such a way that the electron seas would…
Visible and near-infrared spectra of transiting hot Jupiter planets have recently been observed, revealing some of the atmospheric constituents of their atmospheres. In the near future, it is probable that primary and secondary eclipse…
We have obtained near-infrared spectra of three L dwarfs discovered by 2MASS, 1506+13 (L3), 1507-16 (L5), and 0920+35 (L6.5). From the comparison of the H and K band spectra of these L dwarfs, we have found the presence of methane…
Hot methane spectra are important in environments ranging from flames to the atmospheres of cool stars and exoplanets. A new spectroscopic line list, 10to10, for $^{12}$CH$_4$ containing almost 10 billion transitions is presented. This…
We present new optical reflectance spectra of three potentially silicate-rich trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). These spectra were obtained with the aim of confirming past hints and detections of 0.7 micron absorption features associated with…
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…
The upsilon Andromedae system was the first multi-planet system discovered orbiting a main sequence star. We describe the detection of water vapor in the atmosphere of the innermost non-transiting gas giant ups~And~b by treating the…
Observations show that 100-km-class Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) can be divided in (at least) two color groups, hereafter red (R, g-i<1.2) and very red (VR, g-i>1.2), reflecting a difference in their surface composition. This is thought to…
White dwarfs accreting planetary debris provide detailed insight into the bulk composition of rocky exo-planetesimals. However, only one Kuiper-Belt analogue has been identified in that way so far. Here, we report the accretion of an icy…
We conducted a two-night photometric survey of small Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) near opposition using the wide-field Hyper Suprime-Cam instrument on the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. The survey covered about 90 deg^2 of sky, with each field…
We present absorption line analysis of the outflow in the quasar IRAS F04250-5718. Far-ultraviolet data from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope reveal intrinsic narrow absorption lines from high ionization…
We performed a spectroscopic survey toward five intermediate-mass class I YSOs located in the Southern Vela molecular cloud in the L and M bands at resolving powers 600-800 up to 10,000, using the Infrared Spectrometer and Array Camera…
Hydrocarbons such as methane and ethane are present in many solar system objects, including comets, moons and planets. The interaction of these hydrocarbons with water ice at low temperatures could lead to the formation of inclusion…
Stellar occultation is a powerful technique that allows the determination of some physical parameters of the occulting object. The result depends on the photometric accuracy, the temporal resolution, and the number of chords obtained. Space…
Recent XMM-Newton observations of the high-redshift, lensed, broad absorption line (BAL) quasi-stellar object APM 08279+5255, one of the most luminous objects in the universe, allowed the detection of a high column density absorber ($N_H…
We present observations of thermal emission from fifteen transneptunian objects (TNOs) made using the Spitzer Space Telescope. Thirteen of the targets are members of the Classical population: six dynamically hot Classicals, five dynamically…
The recent discovery of two large trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) 2003 UB313 and 2005 FY9, with surface properties similar to those of Pluto, provides an exciting new laboratory for the study of processes considered for Pluto and Triton:…
We present the full sample of measurements of the warm dust emission of 31 strongly-lensed, multiply imaged quasars, observed with JWST MIRI multiband imaging, which we use to constrain the particle properties of dark matter. The strongly…
The optical spectra of Titan reveal a rich set of absorption features, most of which are likely associated with methane (CH$_4$). Methane is a key molecule in planetary and exoplanetary atmospheres, yet a comprehensive high-resolution…