Related papers: The Sensitivity of Eclipse Mapping to Planetary Ro…
With JWST we can now characterize the atmospheres of planets on longer orbital planets, but this moves us into a regime where we cannot assume that tidal forces from the star have eroded planets' obliquities and synchronized their rotation…
Recent Spitzer infrared measurements of hot Jupiter eclipses suggest that eclipse mapping techniques could be used to spatially resolve the day-side photospheric emission of these planets using partial occultations. As a first step in this…
High precision lightcurves combined with eclipse mapping techniques can reveal the horizontal and vertical structure of a planet's thermal emission and the dynamics of hot Jupiters. Someday, they even may reveal the surface maps of rocky…
Eclipse mapping uses the shape of the eclipse of an exoplanet to measure its two-dimensional structure. Light curves are mostly composed of longitudinal information, with the latitudinal information only contained in the brief ingress and…
Only one exoplanet has so far been mapped in both longitude and latitude, but the James Webb Space Telescope should provide mapping-quality data for dozens of exoplanets. The thermal phase mapping problem has previously been solved…
When we are fortunate enough to view an exoplanetary system nearly edge-on, the star and planet periodically eclipse each other. Observations of eclipses (transits and occultations) provide a bonanza of information that cannot be obtained…
Transiting exoplanets provide access to data to study the mass-radius relation and internal structure of extrasolar planets. Long-period transiting planets allow insight into planetary environments similar to the Solar System where, in…
Observations and models of transiting hot Jupiter exoplanets indicate that atmospheric circulation features may cause large spatial flux contrasts across their daysides. Previous studies have mapped these spatial flux variations through…
Planetary atmospheres are inherently 3D objects that can have strong gradients in latitude, longitude, and altitude. Secondary eclipse mapping is a powerful way to map the 3D distribution of the atmosphere, but the data can have large…
We present three-dimensional atmospheric circulation models of a hypothetical "warm Jupiter" planet, for a range of possible obliquities from 0-90 degrees. We model a Jupiter-mass planet on a 10-day orbit around a Sun-like star, since this…
Rotation and orbital eccentricity both strongly influence planetary climate. Eccentricities can often be measured for exoplanets, but rotation rates are currently difficult or impossible to constrain. Here we examine how the combined…
Long-period transiting exoplanets provide an opportunity to study the mass-radius relation and internal structure of extrasolar planets. Their studies grant insights into planetary evolution akin to the Solar System planets, which, in…
We present eclipse maps of the two-dimensional thermal emission from the dayside of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b, derived from an observation of a phase curve with the JWST MIRI/LRS instrument. The observed eclipse shapes deviate significantly…
With over 1800 planets discovered outside of the Solar System in the past two decades, the field of exoplanetology has broadened our perspective on planetary systems. Research priorities are now moving from planet detection to planet…
Exoplanet discoveries over recent years have shown that terrestrial planets are exceptionally common. Many of these planets are in compact systems that result in complex orbital dynamics. A key step toward determining the surface conditions…
Transiting extrasolar planets provide an opportunity to study the mass-radius relation of planets as well as their internal structure. The existence of a secondary eclipse enables further study of the thermal properties of the the planet by…
High-precision exoplanet eclipse light curves, like those possible with JWST, enable flux and temperature mapping of exoplanet atmospheres. These eclipse maps will have unprecedented precision, providing an opportunity to constrain current…
Thermal light-curve analysis is a powerful approach to probe the thermal structures of exoplanetary atmospheres, which are greatly influenced by the planetary obliquity and eccentricity. Here we investigate the thermal light curves of…
Of the over 800 exoplanets detected to date, over half are on non-circular orbits, with eccentricities as high as 0.93. Such orbits lead to time-variable stellar heating, which has implications for the planet's atmospheric dynamical regime.…
Secondary eclipses and phase curves reveal information about the reflectivity and heat distribution in exoplanet atmospheres. The phase curve is composed of a combination of reflected, and thermally emitted light from the planet, and for…