相关论文: Pluto's Seasons: New Predictions for New Horizons
The two dominant features in the distribution of orbital parameters for close-in exoplanets are the prevalence of circular orbits for very short periods, and the observation that planets on closer orbits tend to be heavier. The first…
We review the current understanding of the upper atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune, and explore the upcoming opportunities available to study these exciting planets. The ice giants are the least understood planets in the solar system,…
The space mission PLATO will usher in a new era of exoplanetary science by expanding our current inventory of transiting systems and constraining host star ages, which are currently highly uncertain. This capability might allow PLATO to…
We have observed a stellar occultation of GSC5249-01240 by Saturn's north polar region on November 20, 1995 from NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). This is the first recorded occultation by the polar region of a giant planet. The…
We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these five…
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…
The increasing precision of spacecraft radiometric tracking data experienced in the last number of years, coupled with the huge amount of data collected and the long baselines of the available datasets, has made the direct observation of…
The New Horizons spacecraft's nominal trajectory crosses the planet's satellite plane at $\sim 10,000\ \rm{km}$ from the barycenter, between the orbits of Pluto and Charon. I have investigated the risk to the spacecraft based on…
The study of transiting extrasolar planets is only 15 years old, but has matured into a rich area of research. I review the observational aspects of this work, concentrating on the discovery of transits, the characterisation of planets from…
We adapted a multi-species escape model, developed for close-in extrasolar planets, to calculate the escape rates of CH4 and N2 from Pluto. In the absence of escape, CH4 should overtake N2 as the dominant species below the exobase. The CH4…
The PLATO mission is scheduled for launch in 2026. This study aims to estimate the number of exoplanets that PLATO can detect as a function of planetary size and period, stellar brightness, and observing strategy options. Deviations from…
Context. During the last 30 years the surface of Pluto has been characterized, and its variability has been monitored, through continuous near-infrared spectroscopic observations. But in the visible range only few data are available. Aims.…
The vast, deep, volatile-ice-filled basin informally named Sputnik Planum is central to Pluto's geological activity[1,2]. Composed of molecular nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide ices[3], but dominated by N2-ice, this ice layer is…
We estimate the loss of nitrogen from Pluto over its lifetime, including the giant planet instability period, which we term the "Wild Years." We analyze the orbital migration of 53 simulated Plutinos, which are Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs)…
What kind of environment may exist on terrestrial planets around other stars? In spite of the lack of direct observations, it may not be premature to speculate on exoplanetary climates, for instance to optimize future telescopic…
Context: Seasonal variations and climate stability of a planet are very sensitive to the planet obliquity and its evolution. This is of particular interest for the emergence and sustainability of land-based life, but orbital and rotational…
Short-period exoplanets may exhibit orbital precession driven by several different processes, including tidal interactions with their host stars and secular interactions with additional planets. This motion manifests as periodic shifts in…
The investigation of exoplanetary habitability is integral to advancing our knowledge of extraterrestrial life potential and detailing the environmental conditions of distant worlds. In this analysis, we explore the properties of exoplanets…
IRTF/SpeX observations of Pluto's near-infrared reflectance spectrum during 2013 show vibrational absorption features of CO and N$_2$ ices at 1.58 and 2.15 {\mu}m, respectively, that are weaker than had been observed during the preceding…
In this introductory review presented at the IAU Symposium 253 "Transiting Planets", I summarize the path from the initial 1995 radial-velocity discovery of hot Jupiters to the current rich panoply of investigations that are afforded when…