Related papers: New Horizons Upper Limits on O$_2$ in Pluto's Pres…
Energy limits that delineate the `habitable zone' for exoplanets depend on a given exoplanet's net planetary albedo (or `Bond albedo'). We here demonstrate that the planetary albedo of an observed exoplanet is limited by the above-cloud…
The European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft Rosetta accompanied the Jupiter-family comet (JFC) 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko for over two years along its trajectory through the inner solar system. Between 2014 and 2016, it performed almost…
Following the announcement of the detection of phosphine (PH$_3$) in the cloud deck of Venus at millimeter wavelengths, we have searched for other possible signatures of this molecule in the infrared range. Since 2012, we have been…
Observations of Neptune, made in 2018 using the new Narrow Field Adaptive Optics mode of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) from 0.48 - 0.93 micron, are analysed here to determine the…
We report on high-resolution and spatially-resolved spectra of Io in the 4.0 {\mu}m region, recorded with the VLT/CRIRES instrument in 2008 and 2010, which provide the first detection of the {\nu}1 + {\nu}3 band of SO2 in Io's atmosphere.…
Within the next decade, atmospheric O$_2$ on Earth-like M dwarf planets may be accessible with visible--near-infrared, high spectral resolution extremely large ground-based telescope (ELT) instruments. However, the prospects for using ELTs…
Recent transit observations of K2-18b and TOI-270d revealed strong molecular absorption signatures, lending credence to the idea that temperate sub-Neptunes (T$_\mathrm{eq}$=250-400K) have upper atmospheres mostly free of aerosols. These…
Aims. We aim to identify the presence of atomic and molecular species in the upper atmosphere of the warm Neptune-sized transiting planet GJ 436 b, which has a radiative equilibrium temperature of 690 K and a mass of 25.4 Earth masses.…
Transmission spectroscopy to date has detected atomic and molecular absorption in Jupiter-sized exoplanets, but intense efforts to measure molecular absorption in the atmospheres of smaller (Neptune-sized) planets during transits have…
Neptune-size exoplanets are less studied as characterizing their atmospheres presents challenges due to their relatively small radius and atmospheric scale height. As the most common outcome of planet formation, these planets are crucial…
We present new constraints on gas-phase C, N, and O abundances in the molecular layer of the IM Lup protoplanetary disk. Building on previous physical and chemical modeling of this disk, we use new ALMA observations of C$_2$H to constrain…
The composition of Io's tenuous atmosphere is poorly constrained. Only the major species SO2 and a handful of minor species have been positively identified, but a variety of other molecular species should be present, based on thermochemical…
We analyze 2-5 micrometre spectroscopic observations of the dust coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko obtained with the VIRTIS-H instrument onboard Rosetta from 3 June to 29 October 2015 at heliocentric distances r_h = 1.24-1.55 AU. The…
Context: The abundance of key molecules determines the level of cooling that is necessary for the formation of stars and planetary systems. In this context, one needs to understand the details of the time dependent oxygen chemistry, leading…
H$_2$O is a key molecule in characterizing atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets, and observations of transmission spectra are expected to play a primary role in detecting its signatures in the near future. The detectability of…
The 2019 January 01 flypast of Ultima Thule by the New Horizons spacecraft has provided the author with a new opportunity to test his gas ring model of planetary origin (Prentice, 1978, Moon Planets 19 341). The model proposes that Ultima…
Absorption features from the Lyman and Werner bands of interstellar molecular hydrogen were recorded by the Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph (IMAPS) at a wavelength resolving power R=80,000 in the spectra of delta Ori and…
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are excellent laboratories for testing processes that affect airless bodies, as well as informing us about Solar System history. Though most NEOs are nominally anhydrous because they formed inside the Solar System…
Thermochemical equilibrium and kinetic calculations for the trace gases CO, PH3, and SiH4 give three independent constraints on the water and total oxygen abundances of Saturn's deep atmosphere. A lower limit to the water abundance of…
Over the last decade, precise exoplanet transmission spectroscopy has revealed the atmospheres of dozens of exoplanets, driven largely by observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope. One major discovery has been the ubiquity of…