Hot Jupiter Exoplanets tagged posts

Phase-folded unbinned HATSouth light curves for HATS-50 (upper left), HATS-51 (upper right), HATS-52 (lower left) and HATS-53 (lower right). In each case we show two panels. The top panel shows the full light curve, while the bottom panel shows the light curve zoomed-in on the transit. The solid lines show the model fits to the light curves. The dark filled circles in the bottom panels show the light curves binned in phase with a bin size of 0.002. Credit: Henning et al. 2017.

This diagram compares Hubble Space Telescope observations of two “hot Jupiter”-class planets orbiting very closely to different sunlike stars. Astronomers measured how light from each parent star is filtered through each planet’s atmosphere. HAT-P-38 b did have a water signature indicated by the absorption-feature peak in the spectrum. This is interpreted as indicating the upper atmosphere is free of clouds or hazes. WASP-67 b, has a flat spectrum that lacks any water-absorption feature, suggesting most of the planet’s atmosphere is masked by high-altitude clouds.
Credits: Artwork: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levy (STScI); Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, and G. Bruno (STScI)

Artist’s impression of a gas giant planet in formation within the protoplanetary disc of a young star. Credit: NASA / JPL