Related papers: Exploring the link between star and planet formati…
The study of extrasolar planets and of the Solar System provides complementary pieces of the mosaic represented by the process of planetary formation. Exoplanets are essential to fully grasp the huge diversity of outcomes that planetary…
The recently adopted Ariel ESA mission will measure the atmospheric composition of a large number of exoplanets. This information will then be used to better constrain planetary bulk compositions. While the connection between the…
The Ariel mission will characterise the chemical and thermal properties of the atmospheres of about a thousand exoplanets transiting their host star(s). The observation of such a large sample of planets will allow to deepen our…
The growing body of atmospheric observations of exoplanets from space and ground-based facilities showcases how the great diversity of the planetary population is not limited to their physical properties but extends to their compositions.…
In 2020 the European Space Agency selected Ariel as the next mission to join the space fleet of observatories to study planets outside our Solar System. Ariel will be devoted to the characterisation of a thousand planetary atmospheres, for…
Since the discovery of the first extrasolar planet more than twenty years ago, we have discovered nearly four thousand planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. Current observational instruments (on board the Hubble Space Telescope,…
The goal of planet formation as a field of study is not only to provide the understanding of how planets come into existence. It is also an interdisciplinary bridge which links astronomy to geology and mineralogy. Recent observations of…
Stars and planets are the fundamental objects of the Universe. Their formation processes, though related, may differ in important ways. Stars almost certainly form from gravitational collapse and probably have formed this way since the…
The European Space Agency's Ariel mission will conduct a survey of the atmospheric properties of exoplanets around bright stars. The mission is nominally divided into three Tiers. The Tier 1 survey will consist of low-precision observations…
The characterisation of exoplanetary systems depends on the accurate determination of host star parameters. The Ariel mission will probe the atmospheres of a statistically significant sample of exoplanets, and so requires a precise…
Ariel, the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, was adopted as the fourth medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme to be launched in 2029. During its 4-year mission, Ariel will study what exoplanets are…
One of the ultimate goals of the ESA Ariel space mission is to shed light on the formation pathways and evolution of planetary systems in the Solar neighbourhood. Such an endeavour is only possible by performing a large chemical survey of…
Since the first discovery of an extra-solar planet around a main-sequence star, in 1995, the number of detected exoplanets has increased enormously. Over the past two decades, observational instruments (both onboard and on ground-based…
Over the last twenty years, the search for extrasolar planets revealed us the rich diversity of the outcomes of the formation and evolution of planetary systems. In order to fully understand how these extrasolar planets came to be, however,…
It has become a common practice within the exoplanet field to say that "to know the star is to know the planet." The properties of the host star have a strong, direct influence on the interior and surface conditions of the orbiting planet…
Hot Jupiters present a unique opportunity for measuring how planet formation history shapes present-day atmospheric composition. However, due to the myriad pathways influencing composition, a well-constructed sample of planets is needed to…
With the discovery of hundreds of exoplanets and a potentially huge number of Earth-like planets waiting to be discovered, the conditions for their habitability have become a focal point in exoplanetary research. The classical picture of…
For much of human history we have wondered how our solar system formed, and whether there are any other planets like ours around other stars. Only in the last 20 years have we had direct evidence for the existence of exoplanets, with the…
Constraining planet formation based on the atmospheric composition of exoplanets is a fundamental goal of the exoplanet community. Existing studies commonly try to constrain atmospheric abundances, or to analyze what abundance patterns a…
Automatic scheduling techniques are becoming a crucial tool for the efficient planning of large astronomical surveys. A specific scheduling method is being designed and developed for the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet…