Related papers: Simulating RISTRETTO: Proxima b detectability in r…
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…
High-precision spectrophotometry is highly desirable in detecting and characterizing close-in extrasolar planets to learn about their makeup and temperature. For such a goal, a modest-size telescope with a simple low-resolution…
Although atmospheric transmission spectroscopy of HD209458b with the Hubble Space Telescope has been very successful, attempts to detect its atmospheric absorption features using ground-based telescopes have so far been fruitless. Here we…
We investigate the possibility of exoplanet detection orbiting source stars in microlensing events through WFIRST observations. We perform a Monto Carlo simulation on the detection rate of exoplanets via microlensing, assuming that each…
NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will search for biosignatures on Earth-like exoplanets using reflected light spectroscopy. A critical instrument design parameter is resolving power, which must balance biosignature detectability…
When directly imaging a cold giant exoplanet hosting a ring system, the reflected light from the rings can outshine the planet's thermal emission and reflected-light in the near-infrared. Consequently, an exoring may be detectable at a…
The Exoplanet Tracker is a prototype of a new type of fibre-fed instrument for performing high precision relative Doppler measurements to detect extra-solar planets. A combination of Michelson interferometer and medium resolution…
Well over 700 exoplanets have been detected to date. Only a handful of these have been observed directly. Direct observation is extremely challenging due to the small separation and very large contrast involved. Imaging polarimetry offers a…
We present a novel method for direct detection and characterization of exoplanets from space. This method uses four collecting telescopes, combined with phase chopping and a spectrometer, with observations on only a few baselines rather…
Polarimetry is one of the keys to enhanced direct imaging of exoplanets. Not only does it deliver a differential observable providing extra contrast, but when coupled with spectroscopy, it also reveals valuable information on the…
Our objective is to estimate the C/O ratio in the atmosphere of beta Pictoris b and obtain an estimate of the dynamical mass of the planet, as well as to refine its orbital parameters using high-precision astrometry. We used the GRAVITY…
Although the extra-solar planets discovered so far are of the giant, gaseous, type, the increased sensitivity of future surveys will result in the discovery of lower mass planets. The detection of O2 in the atmosphere of a rocky extra-solar…
Direct imaging spectroscopy with future space-based telescopes will constrain terrestrial planet atmospheric composition and potentially detect biosignature gases. One promising indication of life is abundant atmospheric O2. However,…
Direct imaging of exoplanets is crucial for advancing our understanding of planetary systems beyond our solar system, but it faces significant challenges due to the high contrast between host stars and their planets. Wavefront aberrations…
Investigating the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets is key to performing comparative planetology between these worlds and the terrestrial planets that reside in the inner solar system. Terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres exhibit weak signals,…
The discovery of the exoplanet Proxima b highlights the potential for the coming generation of giant segmented mirror telescopes (GSMTs) to characterize terrestrial --- potentially habitable --- planets orbiting nearby stars with direct…
With the example of Proxima Centauri we discuss the feasibility of detecting terrestrial planets (1 to a few M_Earth) using the high precision radial velocity (RV) technique. If a very high RV precision for M stars is achieved even planets…
Molecular mapping is a supervised method exploiting the spectral diversity of integral field spectrographs to detect and characterize resolved exoplanets blurred into the stellar halo. We present an evolution of the method to remove the…
The reflected light signal from a planet throughout its orbit is a powerful probe of a planet's atmospheric properties. There are a number of planets that are amenable to reflected light phase curve studies with present and future…
The characterization of extrasolar earth-like atmospheres for biosignatures remains one of the most compelling and elusive challenges in astronomy. Coronagraphy, nulling interferometry and free-flying occulters have been advanced as…