Related papers: Hot Rocks Survey I : A possible shallow eclipse fo…
Terrestrial exoplanets orbiting nearby small, cool stars known as M dwarfs are well suited for atmospheric characterisation. Given the strong XUV irradiation from M dwarf host stars, orbiting exoplanets are thought to be unable to retain…
It is an open question whether small planets around M dwarfs are able to maintain atmospheres. The Hot Rocks Survey aims to address this question by observing 9 rocky exoplanets orbiting M dwarfs with MIRI emission photometry to constrain…
The nearby transiting rocky exoplanet LTT 1445A b presents an ideal target for studying atmospheric retention in terrestrial planets orbiting M dwarfs. It is cooler than many rocky exoplanets yet tested for atmospheres, receiving a…
JWST is transforming our ability to characterise small exoplanets, from sub-Neptunes to rocky worlds. A key open question is whether highly irradiated rocky planets can retain atmospheres or are stripped bare by stellar irradiation -- a…
Time-series photometry at mid-infrared wavelengths is becoming a common technique to search for atmospheres around rocky exoplanets. This method constrains the brightness temperature of the planet to determine whether heat redistribution is…
Most rocky planets in the galaxy orbit a cool host star, and there is large uncertainty among theoretical models whether these planets can retain an atmosphere. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) might be able to settle this question…
Secondary eclipse spectroscopy provides invaluable insights into the temperatures and compositions of exoplanetary atmospheres. We carry out a systematic temperature and abundance retrieval analysis of nine exoplanets (HD189733b, HD209458b,…
The upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) means that we will soon have the capability to characterize the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets. However, it is still unknown whether such planets orbiting close to M dwarf stars…
The full range of conditions under which rocky planets can host atmospheres remains poorly understood, especially in the regime of close-in orbits around late-type stars. One way to assess the presence of atmospheres on rocky exoplanets is…
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will open up the possibility of comprehensively measuring the emission spectra of rocky exoplanets orbiting M dwarfs to detect and characterize their atmospheres. In preparation for this opportunity, we…
Determining whether temperate rocky exoplanets orbiting M stars retain atmospheres is currently a central goal of exoplanet astronomy. To this end, the James Webb Space Telescope has begun searching for atmospheres on these worlds with MIRI…
We present moderate resolution near-infrared spectra in $H, J$ and $K$ band of M dwarf hosts to candidate transiting exoplanets discovered by NASA's K2 mission. We employ known empirical relationships between spectral features and physical…
Secondary eclipse observations are a powerful way to investigate whether or not a rocky exoplanet hosts an atmosphere, as an atmospheric presence would transport heat to the nightside and render the dayside colder than anticipated. The…
Emission spectroscopy is a promising technique to observe atmospheres of rocky exoplanets, probing both their chemistry and thermal profiles. We present HyDRo, an atmospheric retrieval framework for thermal emission spectra of rocky…
We report first results from the JWST Rocky Worlds Director's Discretionary Time program. Two secondary eclipses of the terrestrial exoplanet GJ 3929b were recently observed using MIRI photometric imaging at 15 um. We present a reduction of…
The combination of high-contrast imaging and high-dispersion spectroscopy, which has successfully been used to detect the atmosphere of a giant planet, is one of the most promising potential probes of the atmosphere of Earth-size worlds.…
Orbiting a M dwarf 12 pc away, the transiting exoplanet GJ 1132b is a prime target for transmission spectroscopy. With a mass of 1.7 Earth masses and radius of 1.1 Earth radii, GJ 1132b's bulk density indicates that this planet is rocky.…
Determining which rocky exoplanets have atmospheres, and why, is a key goal for the James Webb Space Telescope. So far, emission observations of individual rocky exoplanets orbiting M stars (M-Earths) have not provided definitive evidence…
We report observations of the transiting extrasolar planet, HD 209458 b, designed to detect the secondary eclipse. We employ the method of `occultation spectroscopy', which searches in combined light (star and planet) for the disappearance…
Which rocky exoplanets have atmospheres? This presumably simply question is the first that must be answered to understand the prevalence of nearby habitable planets. A mere 6.9 pc from Earth, LTT 1445A is the closest transiting M-dwarf…