A TIDALLY DESTRUCTED MASSIVE PLANET AS THE PROGENITOR OF THE TWO LIGHT PLANETS AROUND THE sdB STAR KIC 05807616

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bear, Ealeal; Soker, Noam

2012-01-01

We propose that the two newly detected Earth-size planets around the hot B subdwarf star KIC 05807616 are remnant of the tidally destructed metallic core of a massive planet. A single massive gas-giant planet was spiralling-in inside the envelope of the red giant branch star progenitor of the extreme horizontal branch (EHB) star KIC 05807616. The released gravitational energy unbound most of the stellar envelope, turning it into an EHB star. The massive planet reached the tidal-destruction radius of ∼1 R ☉ from the core, where the planet's gaseous envelope was tidally removed. In our scenario, the metallic core of the massive planet was tidally destructed into several Earth-like bodies immediately after the gaseous envelope of the planet was removed. Two, and possibly more, Earth-size fragments survived at orbital separations of ∼> 1 R ☉ within the gaseous disk. The bodies interact with the disk and among themselves, and migrated to reach orbits close to a 3:2 resonance. These observed planets can have a planetary magnetic field about 10 times as strong as that of Earth. This strong magnetic field can substantially reduce the evaporation rate from the planets and explain their survivability against the strong UV radiation of the EHB star.

Mercury - Introduction to an end-member planet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, C.R.

1988-01-01

This chapter introduces the major themes of this book. In many ways, Mercury is an extreme planet, and thus it provides a unique benchmark for testing our theories about the origin and evolution of other (particularly terrestrial) planets. Emphasis is given to synthesizing and critiquing the book's chapters on the planet's origin, its metal-rich composition, its thermal and geophysical evolution, and its cratering history; these topics are complex and controversial, and this book contains a variety of new perspectives on them. Mercury's geology, atmosphere and magnetosphere are discussed more briefly. The study of Mercury is placed in its historical context and in the context of the spacecraft exploration program, both past and future

Stable Hydrogen-rich Atmospheres of Young Rocky Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Zahnle, K. J.; Catling, D. C.; Gacesa, M.

2016-12-01

SourceURL:file://localhost/Volumes/Lexar/Zahnle_AGU_2016.docx Understanding hydrogen escape is essential to understanding the limits to habitability, both for liquid water where the Sun is bright, but also to assess the true potential of H2 as a greenhouse gas where the Sun is faint. Hydrogen-rich primary atmospheres of Earth-like planets can result either from gravitational capture of solar nebular gases (with helium), or from impact shock processing of a wide variety of volatile-rich planetesimals (typically accompanied by H2O, CO2, and under the right circumstances, CH4). Most studies of hydrogen escape from planets focus on determining how fast the hydrogen escapes. In general this requires solving hydrodynamic equations that take into account the acceleration of hydrogen through a critical transonic point and an energy budget that should include radiative heating and cooling, thermal conduction, the work done in lifting the hydrogen against gravity, and the residual heat carried by the hydrogen as it leaves. But for planets from which hydrogen escape is modest or insignificant, the atmosphere can be approximated as hydrostatic, which is much simpler, and for which a relatively full-featured treatment of radiative cooling by embedded molecules, atoms, and ions such as CO2 and H3+ is straightforward. Previous work has overlooked the fact that the H2 molecule is extremely efficient at exciting non-LTE CO2 15 micron emission, and thus that radiative cooling can be markedly more efficient when H2 is abundant. We map out the region of phase space in which terrestrial planets keep hydrogen-rich atmospheres, which is what we actually want to know for habitability. We will use this framework to reassess Tian et al's (Science 308, pp. 1014-1017, 2005) hypothesis that H2-rich atmospheres may have been rather long-lived on Earth itself. Finally, we will address the empirical observation that rocky planets with thin or negligible atmospheres are rarely or never bigger than

Extreme physics take a quantum leap... to the edge of science

CERN Document Server

Basher, Simon

2013-01-01

In Basher's totally hip and quirky style, readers are introduced to the amazing research that is revolutionizing physics! From the pioneering experiments taking place in the Hadron Collider to NASAs deep-space exploration, "Basher Science: Extreme Physics "highlights the realm of miniscule things that was discovered in the early 1900s by scientists who were on the hunt for teeny-tiny parts of matter, the bits from which all larger things are made. This wild, uncertain world is bursting with crazy characters you're about to meet-youre gonna love them!

EXAMINING TATOOINE: ATMOSPHERIC MODELS OF NEPTUNE-LIKE CIRCUMBINARY PLANETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

May, E. M.; Rauscher, E. [University of Michigan (United States)

2016-08-01

Circumbinary planets experience a time-varying irradiation pattern as they orbit their two host stars. In this work, we present the first detailed study of the atmospheric effects of this irradiation pattern on known and hypothetical gaseous circumbinary planets. Using both a one-dimensional energy balance model (EBM) and a three-dimensional general circulation model (GCM), we look at the temperature differences between circumbinary planets and their equivalent single-star cases in order to determine the nature of the atmospheres of these planets. We find that for circumbinary planets on stable orbits around their host stars, temperature differences are on average no more than 1.0% in the most extreme cases. Based on detailed modeling with the GCM, we find that these temperature differences are not large enough to excite circulation differences between the two cases. We conclude that gaseous circumbinary planets can be treated as their equivalent single-star case in future atmospheric modeling efforts.

Transits of extrasolar moons around luminous giant planets

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, R.

2016-04-01

Beyond Earth-like planets, moons can be habitable, too. No exomoons have been securely detected, but they could be extremely abundant. Young Jovian planets can be as hot as late M stars, with effective temperatures of up to 2000 K. Transits of their moons might be detectable in their infrared photometric light curves if the planets are sufficiently separated (≳10 AU) from the stars to be directly imaged. The moons will be heated by radiation from their young planets and potentially by tidal friction. Although stellar illumination will be weak beyond 5 AU, these alternative energy sources could liquify surface water on exomoons for hundreds of Myr. A Mars-mass H2O-rich moon around β Pic b would have a transit depth of 1.5 × 10-3, in reach of near-future technology.

PLANET-PLANET SCATTERING IN PLANETESIMAL DISKS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raymond, Sean N.; Armitage, Philip J.; Gorelick, Noel

2009-01-01

We study the final architecture of planetary systems that evolve under the combined effects of planet-planet and planetesimal scattering. Using N-body simulations we investigate the dynamics of marginally unstable systems of gas and ice giants both in isolation and when the planets form interior to a planetesimal belt. The unstable isolated systems evolve under planet-planet scattering to yield an eccentricity distribution that matches that observed for extrasolar planets. When planetesimals are included the outcome depends upon the total mass of the planets. For M tot ∼> 1 M J the final eccentricity distribution remains broad, whereas for M tot ∼ J a combination of divergent orbital evolution and recircularization of scattered planets results in a preponderance of nearly circular final orbits. We also study the fate of marginally stable multiple planet systems in the presence of planetesimal disks, and find that for high planet masses the majority of such systems evolve into resonance. A significant fraction leads to resonant chains that are planetary analogs of Jupiter's Galilean satellites. We predict that a transition from eccentric to near-circular orbits will be observed once extrasolar planet surveys detect sub-Jovian mass planets at orbital radii of a ≅ 5-10 AU.

Survival of extrasolar giant planet moons in planet-planet scattering

Science.gov (United States)

CIAN HONG, YU; Lunine, Jonathan; Nicholson, Phillip; Raymond, Sean

2015-12-01

Planet-planet scattering is the best candidate mechanism for explaining the eccentricity distribution of exoplanets. Here we study the survival and dynamics of exomoons under strong perturbations during giant planet scattering. During close encounters, planets and moons exchange orbital angular momentum and energy. The most common outcomes are the destruction of moons by ejection from the system, collision with the planets and the star, and scattering of moons onto perturbed but still planet-bound orbits. A small percentage of interesting moons can remain bound to ejected (free-floating) planets or be captured by a different planet. Moons' survival rate is correlated with planet observables such as mass, semi-major axis, eccentricity and inclination, as well as the close encounter distance and the number of close encounters. In addition, moons' survival rate and dynamical outcomes are predetermined by the moons' initial semi-major axes. The survival rate drops quickly as moons' distances increase, but simulations predict a good chance of survival for the Galilean moons. Moons with different dynamical outcomes occupy different regions of orbital parameter space, which may enable the study of moons' past evolution. Potential effects of planet obliquity evolution caused by close encounters on the satellites’ stability and dynamics will be reported, as well as detailed and systematic studies of individual close encounter events.

An Earth-mass planet orbiting α Centauri B.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumusque, Xavier; Pepe, Francesco; Lovis, Christophe; Ségransan, Damien; Sahlmann, Johannes; Benz, Willy; Bouchy, François; Mayor, Michel; Queloz, Didier; Santos, Nuno; Udry, Stéphane

2012-11-08

Exoplanets down to the size of Earth have been found, but not in the habitable zone--that is, at a distance from the parent star at which water, if present, would be liquid. There are planets in the habitable zone of stars cooler than our Sun, but for reasons such as tidal locking and strong stellar activity, they are unlikely to harbour water-carbon life as we know it. The detection of a habitable Earth-mass planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun is extremely difficult, because such a signal is overwhelmed by stellar perturbations. Here we report the detection of an Earth-mass planet orbiting our neighbour star α Centauri B, a member of the closest stellar system to the Sun. The planet has an orbital period of 3.236 days and is about 0.04 astronomical units from the star (one astronomical unit is the Earth-Sun distance).

Direct Imaging of Warm Extrasolar Planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macintosh, B

2005-01-01

One of the most exciting scientific discoveries in the last decade of the twentieth century was the first detection of planets orbiting a star other than our own. By now more than 130 extrasolar planets have been discovered indirectly, by observing the gravitational effects of the planet on the radial velocity of its parent star. This technique has fundamental limitations: it is most sensitive to planets close to their star, and it determines only a planet's orbital period and a lower limit on the planet's mass. As a result, all the planetary systems found so far are very different from our own--they have giant Jupiter-sized planets orbiting close to their star, where the terrestrial planets are found in our solar system. Such systems have overturned the conventional paradigm of planet formation, but have no room in them for habitable Earth-like planets. A powerful complement to radial velocity detections of extrasolar planets will be direct imaging--seeing photons from the planet itself. Such a detection would allow photometric measurements to determine the temperature and radius of a planet. Also, direct detection is most sensitive to planets in wide orbits, and hence more capable of seeing solar systems resembling our own, since a giant planet in a wide orbit does not preclude the presence of an Earth-like planet closer to the star. Direct detection, however, is extremely challenging. Jupiter is roughly a billion times fainter than our sun. Two techniques allowed us to overcome this formidable contrast and attempt to see giant planets directly. The first is adaptive optics (AO) which allows giant earth-based telescopes, such as the 10 meter W.M. Keck telescope, to partially overcome the blurring effects of atmospheric turbulence. The second is looking for young planets: by searching in the infrared for companions to young stars, we can see thermal emission from planets that are still warm with the heat of their formation. Together with a UCLA team that leads the

Discovery of two planets around a millisecond pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Wolszczan, A.

1992-01-01

By timing the arrival of radio signals from a rapidly spinning pulsar at the Arecibo Observatory's radio/radar telescope, the most convincing evidence so far for a planetary system outside our own has been found: two or possibly three planets that orbit the neutron star called PSR1257+12. This finding indicates that planet formation may be a more common process than previously anticipated and that the formation of disks of gas and dust that are sufficiently massive to condense into Earth-sized planets orbiting their central bodies can take place under surprisingly diverse conditions.

The Calan-Hertfordshire extrasolar planet search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinfield D.J.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The detailed study of the exoplanetary systems HD189733 and HD209458 has given rise to a wealth of exciting information on the physics of exoplanetary atmospheres. To further our understanding of the make-up and processes within these atmospheres we require a larger sample of bright transiting planets. We have began a project to detect more bright transiting planets in the southern hemisphere by utilising precision radial-velocity measurements. We have observed a constrained sample of bright, inactive and metal-rich stars using the HARPS instrument and here we present the current status of this project, along with our first discoveries which include a brown dwarf/extreme-Jovian exoplanet found in the brown dwarf desert region around the star HD191760 and improved orbits for three other exoplanetary systems HD48265, HD143361 and HD154672. Finally, we briefly discuss the future of this project and the current prospects we have for discovering more bright transiting planets.

The Stability of Hydrogen-Rich Atmospheres of Earth-Like Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Zahnle, Kevin

2016-01-01

Understanding hydrogen escape is essential to understanding the limits to habitability, both for liquid water where the Sun is bright, but also to assess the true potential of H2 as a greenhouse gas where the Sun is faint. Hydrogen-rich primary atmospheres of Earth-like planets can result either from gravitational capture of solar nebular gases (with helium), or from impact shock processing of a wide variety of volatile-rich planetesimals (typically accompanied by H2O, CO2, and under the right circumstances, CH4). Most studies of hydrogen escape from planets focus on determining how fast the hydrogen escapes. In general this requires solving hydro- dynamic equations that take into account the acceleration of hydrogen through a critical transonic point and an energy budget that should include radiative heating and cooling, thermal conduction, the work done in lifting the hydrogen against gravity, and the residual heat carried by the hydrogen as it leaves. But for planets from which hydrogen escape is modest or insignificant, the atmosphere can be approximated as hydrostatic, which is much simpler, and for which a relatively full-featured treatment of radiative cooling by embedded molecules, atoms, and ions such as CO2 and H3+ is straightforward. Previous work has overlooked the fact that the H2 molecule is extremely efficient at exciting non-LTE CO2 15 micron emission, and thus that radiative cooling can be markedly more efficient when H2 is abundant. We map out the region of phase space in which terrestrial planets keep hydrogen-rich atmospheres, which is what we actually want to know for habitability. We will use this framework to reassess Tian et al's hypothesis that H2-rich atmospheres may have been rather long-lived on Earth itself. Finally, we will address the empirical observation that rocky planets with thin or negligible atmospheres are rarely or never bigger than 1.6 Earth radii.

A Maximum Radius for Habitable Planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Alibert, Yann

2015-09-01

We compute the maximum radius a planet can have in order to fulfill two constraints that are likely necessary conditions for habitability: 1- surface temperature and pressure compatible with the existence of liquid water, and 2- no ice layer at the bottom of a putative global ocean, that would prevent the operation of the geologic carbon cycle to operate. We demonstrate that, above a given radius, these two constraints cannot be met: in the Super-Earth mass range (1-12 Mearth), the overall maximum that a planet can have varies between 1.8 and 2.3 Rearth. This radius is reduced when considering planets with higher Fe/Si ratios, and taking into account irradiation effects on the structure of the gas envelope.

Life in other planets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghosh, S N [Calcutta Univ. (India). Dept. of Applied Physics

1977-12-01

Speculations of life on other planets in space are discussed. The life history of a star in terms of the high-temperature fusion reactions taking place in it is outlined. The phenomenon of gases escaping from planetary atmospheres which destroys life on them is explained. Solar radiation effects, pulsar detection, etc., are briefly touched upon.

Rosetta comet-chaser takes a close look at planet Mars

Science.gov (United States)

2007-09-01

��, said Manfred Warhaut, Head of the Mission Operations Department. During the approach to Mars, instruments onboard Rosetta - as well as on its lander - were switched on at predefined times to observe the environment and take imagery of the Red Planet. In September 2008 and July 2010, when it is deep inside the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Rosetta will also observe the asteroids Stein and Lutetia close up.

P-TYPE PLANET–PLANET SCATTERING: KEPLER CLOSE BINARY CONFIGURATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Yan-Xiang

2017-01-01

A hydrodynamical simulation shows that a circumbinary planet will migrate inward to the edge of the disk cavity. If multiple planets form in a circumbinary disk, successive migration will lead to planet–planet scattering (PPS). PPS of Kepler -like circumbinary planets is discussed in this paper. The aim of this paper is to answer how PPS affects the formation of these planets. We find that a close binary has a significant influence on the scattering process. If PPS occurs near the unstable boundary of a binary, about 10% of the systems can be completely destroyed after PPS. In more than 90% of the systems, there is only one planet left. Unlike the eccentricity distribution produced by PPS in a single star system, the surviving planets generally have low eccentricities if PPS take place near the location of the currently found circumbinary planets. In addition, the ejected planets are generally the innermost of two initial planets. The above results depend on the initial positions of the two planets. If the initial positions of the planets are moved away from the binary, the evolution tends toward statistics similar to those around single stars. In this process, the competition between the planet–planet force and the planet-binary force makes the eccentricity distribution of surviving planets diverse. These new features of P-type PPS will deepen our understanding of the formation of these circumbinary planets.

Life in other planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, S.N.

1977-01-01

Speculations of life on other planets in space are discussed. The life history of a star in terms of the high temperature fusion reactions taking place in it, is outlined. The phenomenon of gases escaping from planetary atmospheres which destroys life on them is explained. Solar radiation effects, pulsar detection etc. are briefly touched upon. (K.B.)

Status of the Calan-Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordán Andres

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In these proceedings we give a status update of the Calan-Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search, an international collaboration led from Chile that aims to discover more planets around super metal-rich and Sun-like stars, and then follow these up with precision photometry to hunt for new bright transit planets. We highlight some results from this program, including exoplanet and brown dwarf discoveries, and a possible correlation between metallicity and planetary minimum mass at the lowest planetary masses detectable. Finally we discuss the short-term and long-term future pathways this program can take.

Rapid heating of the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet.

Science.gov (United States)

Laughlin, Gregory; Deming, Drake; Langton, Jonathan; Kasen, Daniel; Vogt, Steve; Butler, Paul; Rivera, Eugenio; Meschiari, Stefano

2009-01-29

Near-infrared observations of more than a dozen 'hot-Jupiter' extrasolar planets have now been reported. These planets display a wide diversity of properties, yet all are believed to have had their spin periods tidally spin-synchronized with their orbital periods, resulting in permanent star-facing hemispheres and surface flow patterns that are most likely in equilibrium. Planets in significantly eccentric orbits can enable direct measurements of global heating that are largely independent of the details of the hydrodynamic flow. Here we report 8-microm photometric observations of the planet HD 80606b during a 30-hour interval bracketing the periastron passage of its extremely eccentric 111.4-day orbit. As the planet received its strongest irradiation (828 times larger than the flux received at apastron) its maximum 8-microm brightness temperature increased from approximately 800 K to approximately 1,500 K over a six-hour period. We also detected a secondary eclipse for the planet, which implies an orbital inclination of i approximately 90 degrees , fixes the planetary mass at four times the mass of Jupiter, and constrains the planet's tidal luminosity. Our measurement of the global heating rate indicates that the radiative time constant at the planet's 8-microm photosphere is approximately 4.5 h, in comparison with 3-5 days in Earth's stratosphere.

FORMATION, SURVIVAL, AND DETECTABILITY OF PLANETS BEYOND 100 AU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veras, Dimitri; Crepp, Justin R.; Ford, Eric B.

2009-01-01

Direct imaging searches have begun to detect planetary and brown dwarf companions and to place constraints on the presence of giant planets at large separations from their host star. This work helps to motivate such planet searches by predicting a population of young giant planets that could be detectable by direct imaging campaigns. Both the classical core accretion and the gravitational instability model for planet formation are hard pressed to form long-period planets in situ. Here, we show that dynamical instabilities among planetary systems that originally formed multiple giant planets much closer to the host star could produce a population of giant planets at large (∼ 10 2 -10 5 AU) separations. We estimate the limits within which these planets may survive, quantify the efficiency of gravitational scattering into both stable and unstable wide orbits, and demonstrate that population analyses must take into account the age of the system. We predict that planet scattering creates detectable giant planets on wide orbits that decreases in number on timescales of ∼ 10 Myr. We demonstrate that several members of such populations should be detectable with current technology, quantify the prospects for future instruments, and suggest how they could place interesting constraints on planet formation models.

The early evolution of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets

CERN Document Server

Raulin, François; Muller, Christian; Nixon, Conor; Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings : Volume 35

2013-01-01

“The Early Evolution of the Atmospheres of Terrestrial Planets” presents the main processes participating in the atmospheric evolution of terrestrial planets. A group of experts in the different fields provide an update of our current knowledge on this topic. Several papers in this book discuss the key role of nitrogen in the atmospheric evolution of terrestrial planets. The earliest setting and evolution of planetary atmospheres of terrestrial planets is directly associated with accretion, chemical differentiation, outgassing, stochastic impacts, and extremely high energy fluxes from their host stars. This book provides an overview of the present knowledge of the initial atmospheric composition of the terrestrial planets. Additionally it includes some papers about the current exoplanet discoveries and provides additional clues to our understanding of Earth’s transition from a hot accretionary phase into a habitable world. All papers included were reviewed by experts in their respective fields. We are ...

Connecting Young Brown Dwarfs and Directly Imaged Gas-Giant Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Michael; Dupuy, Trent; Allers, Katelyn; Aller, Kimberly; Best, William; Magnier, Eugene

2015-12-01

Direct detections of gas-giant exoplanets and discoveries of young (~10-100 Myr) field brown dwarfs from all-sky surveys are strengthening the link between the exoplanet and brown dwarf populations, given the overlapping ages, masses, temperatures, and surface gravities. In light of the relatively small number of directly imaged planets and the modest associated datasets, the large census of young field brown dwarfsprovides a compelling laboratory for enriching our understanding of both classes of objects. However, work to date on young field objects has typically focused on individual discoveries.We present a large comprehensive study of the youngest field brown dwarfs, comprising both previously known objects and our new discoveries from the latest wide-field surveys (Pan-STARRS-1 and WISE). With masses now extending down to ~5 Jupiter masses, these objects have physical properties that largely overlap young gas-giant planets and thus are promising analogs for studying exoplanet atmospheres at unparalleled S/N, spectral resolution, and wavelength coverage. We combine high-quality spectra and parallaxes to determine spectral energy distributions, luminosities, temperatures, and ages for young field objects. We demonstrate that this population spans a continuum in the color-magnitude diagram, thereby forming a bridge between the hot and cool extremes of directly imaged planets. We find that the extremely dusty properties of the planets around 2MASS J1207-39 and HR 8799 do occur in some young brown dwarfs, but these properties do not have a simple correspondence with age, perhaps contrary to expectations. We find young field brown dwarfs can have unusually low temperatures and suggest a new spectral type-temperature scale appropriate for directly imaged planets.To help provide a reference for extreme-contrast imaging surveys, we establish a grid of spectral standards and benchmarks, based on membership in nearby young moving groups, in order to calibrate gravity

Very high-density planets: a possible remnant of gas giants.

Science.gov (United States)

Mocquet, A; Grasset, O; Sotin, C

2014-04-28

Data extracted from the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (see http://exoplanet.eu) show the existence of planets that are more massive than iron cores that would have the same size. After meticulous verification of the data, we conclude that the mass of the smallest of these planets is actually not known. However, the three largest planets, Kepler-52b, Kepler-52c and Kepler-57b, which are between 30 and 100 times the mass of the Earth, have indeed density larger than an iron planet of the same size. This observation triggers this study that investigates under which conditions these planets could represent the naked cores of gas giants that would have lost their atmospheres during their migration towards the star. This study shows that for moderate viscosity values (10(25) Pa s or lower), large values of escape rate and associated unloading stress rate during the atmospheric loss process lead to the explosion of extremely massive planets. However, for moderate escape rate, the bulk viscosity and finite-strain incompressibility of the cores of giant planets can be large enough to retain a very high density during geological time scales. This would make those a new kind of planet, which would help in understanding the interior structure of the gas giants. However, this new family of exoplanets adds some degeneracy for characterizing terrestrial exoplanets.

CHARACTERIZING THE ATMOSPHERES OF TRANSITING ROCKY PLANETS AROUND LATE-TYPE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palle, E.; Garcia Munoz, A.; Zosorio, M. R. Zapatero

2011-01-01

Visible and near-infrared spectra of transiting hot Jupiter planets have recently been observed, revealing some of the atmospheric constituents of their atmospheres. In the near future, it is probable that primary and secondary eclipse observations of Earth-like rocky planets will also be achieved. The characterization of Earth's transmission spectrum has shown that both major and trace atmospheric constituents may present strong absorption features, including important bio-markers such as water, oxygen, and methane. Our simulations using a recently published empirical Earth's transmission spectrum, and the stellar spectra for a variety of stellar types, indicate that the new generation of extremely large telescopes, such as the proposed 42 m European Extremely Large Telescope, could be capable of retrieving the transmission spectrum of an Earth-like planet around very cool stars and brown dwarfs (T eff ≤ ∼3100 K). For a twin of Earth around a star with T eff ∼ 3100 K (M4), for example, the spectral features of H 2 O, CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 in the wavelength range between 0.9 and 2.4 μm can simultaneously be detected within 100 hr of observing time, or even less for a late-M star. Such detection would constitute proof for the existence of life in that planet. The detection time can be reduced to a few hours for a super-Earth type of planet with twice Earth's radius.

Planetesimals and Planet Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, John

The first step in the standard model for planet formation is the growth of gravitationally bound bodies called ``planetesimals'' from dust grains in a protoplanetary disk. Currently, we do not know how planetesimals form, how long they take to form, or what their sizes and mechanical properties are. The goal of this proposal is to assess how these uncertainties affect subsequent stages of planetary growth and the kind of planetary systems that form. The work will address three particular questions: (i) Can the properties of small body populations in the modern Solar System constrain the properties of planetesimals? (ii) How do the properties of planetesimals affect the formation of giant planets? (iii) How does the presence of a water ice condensation front (the ``snow line'') in a disk affect planetesimal formation and the later stages of planetary growth? These questions will be examined with computer simulations of planet formation using new computer codes to be developed as part of the proposal. The first question will be addressed using a statistical model for planetesimal coagulation and fragmentation. This code will be merged with the proposer's Mercury N-body integrator code to model the dynamics of large protoplanets in order to address the second question. Finally, a self- consistent model of disk evolution and the radial transport of water ice and vapour will be added to examine the third question. A theoretical understanding of how planets form is one of the key goals of NASA and the Origins of Solar Systems programme. Researchers have carried out many studies designed to address this goal, but the questions of how planetesimals form and how their properties affect planet formation have received relatively little attention. The proposed work will help address these unsolved questions, and place other research in context by assessing the importance of planetesimal origins and properties for planet formation.

Predictions of Planet Detections with Near-infrared Radial Velocities in the Upcoming SPIRou Legacy Survey-planet Search

Science.gov (United States)

Cloutier, Ryan; Artigau, Étienne; Delfosse, Xavier; Malo, Lison; Moutou, Claire; Doyon, René; Donati, Jean-Francois; Cumming, Andrew; Dumusque, Xavier; Hébrard, Élodie; Menou, Kristen

2018-02-01

The SPIRou near-infrared spectropolarimeter is destined to begin science operations at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope in mid-2018. One of the instrument’s primary science goals is to discover the closest exoplanets to the solar system by conducting a three- to five-year long radial velocity survey of nearby M dwarfs at an expected precision of ∼1 m s‑1, the SPIRou Legacy Survey-Planet Search (SLS-PS). In this study, we conduct a detailed Monte Carlo simulation of the SLS-PS using our current understanding of the occurrence rate of M dwarf planetary systems and physical models of stellar activity. From simultaneous modeling of planetary signals and activity, we predict the population of planets to be detected in the SLS-PS. With our fiducial survey strategy and expected instrument performance over a nominal survey length of ∼3 years, we expect SPIRou to detect {85.3}-12.4+29.3 planets including {20.0}-7.2+16.8 habitable-zone planets and {8.1}-3.2+7.6 Earth-like planets from a sample of 100 M1–M8.5 dwarfs out to 11 pc. By studying mid-to-late M dwarfs previously inaccessible to existing optical velocimeters, SPIRou will put meaningful constraints on the occurrence rate of planets around those stars including the value of {η }\\oplus at an expected level of precision of ≲ 45 % . We also predict that a subset of {46.7}-6.0+16.0 planets may be accessible with dedicated high-contrast imagers on the next generation of extremely large telescopes including {4.9}-2.0+4.7 potentially imagable Earth-like planets. Lastly, we compare the results of our fiducial survey strategy to other foreseeable survey versions to quantify which strategy is optimized to reach the SLS-PS science goals. The results of our simulations are made available to the community on GitHub (https://github.com/r-cloutier/SLSPS_Simulations).

MASS-RADIUS RELATIONSHIPS FOR VERY LOW MASS GASEOUS PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batygin, Konstantin; Stevenson, David J.

2013-01-01

Recently, the Kepler spacecraft has detected a sizable aggregate of objects, characterized by giant-planet-like radii and modest levels of stellar irradiation. With the exception of a handful of objects, the physical nature, and specifically the average densities, of these bodies remain unknown. Here, we propose that the detected giant planet radii may partially belong to planets somewhat less massive than Uranus and Neptune. Accordingly, in this work, we seek to identify a physically sound upper limit to planetary radii at low masses and moderate equilibrium temperatures. As a guiding example, we analyze the interior structure of the Neptune-mass planet Kepler-30d and show that it is acutely deficient in heavy elements, especially compared with its solar system counterparts. Subsequently, we perform numerical simulations of planetary thermal evolution and in agreement with previous studies, show that generally, 10-20 M ⊕ , multi-billion year old planets, composed of high density cores and extended H/He envelopes can have radii that firmly reside in the giant planet range. We subject our results to stability criteria based on extreme ultraviolet radiation, as well as Roche-lobe overflow driven mass-loss and construct mass-radius relationships for the considered objects. We conclude by discussing observational avenues that may be used to confirm or repudiate the existence of putative low mass, gas-dominated planets.

Planet Formation Imager (PFI) : science vision and key requirements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kraus, S.; Monnier, J.D.; Ireland, M.J.; Duchene, G.; Espaillat, C.; Honig, S.; Juhasz, A.; Mordasini, C.; Olofsson, J.; Paladini, C.; Stassun, K.; Turner, N.; Vasisht, G.; Harries, T.J.; Bate, M.R.; Gonzalez, J-F.; Matter, A.; Zhu, Z.; Panic, O.; Regaly, Z.; Morbidelli, A.; Meru, F.; Wolf, S.; Ilee, J.; Berger, J-P.; Zhao, M.; Kral, Q.; Morlok, A.; Bonsor, A.; Ciardi, D.; Kane, S.R.; Kratter, K.; Laughlin, G.; Pepper, J.; Raymond, S.; Labadie, L.; Nelson, R.P.; Weigelt, G.; Brummelaar, ten T.; Pierens, A.; Oudmaijer, R.; Kley, W.; Pope, B.; Jensen, E.L.N.; Bayo, A.; Smith, M.; Boyajian, T.; Quiroga-Nunez, L.H.; Millan-Gabet, R.; Chiavassa, A.; Gallenne, A.; Reynolds, M.; Wit, de W-J.; Wittkowski, M.; Millour, F.; Gandhi, P.; Ramos, A. C.; Alonso, H. A.; Packham, C.; Kishimoto, M.; Tristram, K.R.W.; Pott, J.-U.; Surdej, J.; Buscher, D.; Haniff, C.; Lacour, S.; Petrov, R.; Ridgway, S.; Tuthill, P.; Belle, van G.; Armitage, P.; Baruteau, C.; Benisty, M.; Bitsch, B.; Paardekooper, S-J.; Pinte, C.; Masset, F.; Rosotti, G.P.

2016-01-01

The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) project aims to provide a strong scientific vision for ground-based optical astronomy beyond the upcoming generation of Extremely Large Telescopes. We make the case that a breakthrough in angular resolution imaging capabilities is required in order to unravel the

The habitable zone and extreme planetary orbits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Stephen R; Gelino, Dawn M

2012-10-01

The habitable zone for a given star describes the range of circumstellar distances from the star within which a planet could have liquid water on its surface, which depends upon the stellar properties. Here we describe the development of the habitable zone concept, its application to our own solar system, and its subsequent application to exoplanetary systems. We further apply this to planets in extreme eccentric orbits and show how they may still retain life-bearing properties depending upon the percentage of the total orbit which is spent within the habitable zone. Key Words: Extrasolar planets-Habitable zone-Astrobiology.

New planet hints at life in the stars

CERN Multimedia

Dalton, A W

2002-01-01

Astronomers have detected a distant planet 100 light years from Earth, circling Tau1 Gruis, its star, in the constellation of Grus (the crane). The planet, similar in appearance to Jupiter, is three times as far away from its star as the Earth is from the Sun and takes four years to revolve around the star, in a roughly circular orbit. Scientists believe this type of planetary orbit is the most promising for finding worlds that contain life (1 page).

A Universal Break in the Planet-to-star Mass-ratio Function of Kepler MKG Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Pascucci, Ilaria; Mulders, Gijs D.; Gould, Andrew; Fernandes, Rachel

2018-04-01

We follow the microlensing approach and quantify the occurrence of Kepler exoplanets as a function of planet-to-star mass ratio, q, rather than planet radius or mass. For planets with radii ∼1–6 R ⊕ and periods law with a break at ∼3 × 10‑5 independent of host type for hosts below 1 M ⊙. These findings indicate that the planet-to-star mass ratio is a more fundamental quantity in planet formation than planet mass. We then compare our results to those from microlensing for which the overwhelming majority satisfies the M host common planet inside the snowline is ∼3–10 times less massive than the one outside. With rocky planets interior to gaseous planets, the solar system broadly follows the combined mass-ratio function inferred from Kepler and microlensing. However, the exoplanet population has a less extreme radial distribution of planetary masses than the solar system. Establishing whether the mass-ratio function beyond the snowline is also host type independent will be crucial to build a comprehensive theory of planet formation.

Temperate Earth-sized planets transiting a nearby ultracool dwarf star.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillon, Michaël; Jehin, Emmanuël; Lederer, Susan M; Delrez, Laetitia; de Wit, Julien; Burdanov, Artem; Van Grootel, Valérie; Burgasser, Adam J; Triaud, Amaury H M J; Opitom, Cyrielle; Demory, Brice-Olivier; Sahu, Devendra K; Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella; Magain, Pierre; Queloz, Didier

2016-05-12

Star-like objects with effective temperatures of less than 2,700 kelvin are referred to as 'ultracool dwarfs'. This heterogeneous group includes stars of extremely low mass as well as brown dwarfs (substellar objects not massive enough to sustain hydrogen fusion), and represents about 15 per cent of the population of astronomical objects near the Sun. Core-accretion theory predicts that, given the small masses of these ultracool dwarfs, and the small sizes of their protoplanetary disks, there should be a large but hitherto undetected population of terrestrial planets orbiting them--ranging from metal-rich Mercury-sized planets to more hospitable volatile-rich Earth-sized planets. Here we report observations of three short-period Earth-sized planets transiting an ultracool dwarf star only 12 parsecs away. The inner two planets receive four times and two times the irradiation of Earth, respectively, placing them close to the inner edge of the habitable zone of the star. Our data suggest that 11 orbits remain possible for the third planet, the most likely resulting in irradiation significantly less than that received by Earth. The infrared brightness of the host star, combined with its Jupiter-like size, offers the possibility of thoroughly characterizing the components of this nearby planetary system.

The Habitable Zone and Extreme Planetary Orbits

OpenAIRE

Kane, Stephen R.; Gelino, Dawn M.

2012-01-01

The habitable zone for a given star describes the range of circumstellar distances from the star within which a planet could have liquid water on its surface, which depends upon the stellar properties. Here we describe the development of the habitable zone concept, its application to our own solar system, and its subsequent application to exoplanetary systems. We further apply this to planets in extreme eccentric orbits and show how they may still retain life-bearing properties depending upon...

The impact of red noise in radial velocity planet searches: only three planets orbiting GJ 581?

Science.gov (United States)

Baluev, Roman V.

2013-03-01

We perform a detailed analysis of the latest HARPS and Keck radial velocity data for the planet-hosting red dwarf GJ 581, which attracted a lot of attention in recent time. We show that these data contain important correlated noise component (`red noise') with the correlation time-scale of the order of 10 d. This red noise imposes a lot of misleading effects while we work in the traditional white-noise model. To eliminate these misleading effects, we propose a maximum-likelihood algorithm equipped by an extended model of the noise structure. We treat the red noise as a Gaussian random process with an exponentially decaying correlation function. Using this method we prove that (i) planets b and c do exist in this system, since they can be independently detected in the HARPS and Keck data, and regardless of the assumed noise models; (ii) planet e can also be confirmed independently by both the data sets, although to reveal it in the Keck data it is mandatory to take the red noise into account; (iii) the recently announced putative planets f and g are likely just illusions of the red noise; (iv) the reality of the planet candidate GJ 581 d is questionable, because it cannot be detected from the Keck data, and its statistical significance in the HARPS data (as well as in the combined data set) drops to a marginal level of ˜2σ, when the red noise is taken into account. Therefore, the current data for GJ 581 really support the existence of no more than four (or maybe even only three) orbiting exoplanets. The planet candidate GJ 581 d requests serious observational verification.

A desert of gas giant planets beyond tens of au: from feast to famine

Science.gov (United States)

Nayakshin, Sergei

2017-09-01

It is argued that frequency of gravitational fragmentation of young massive discs around FGK stars may be much higher than commonly believed. Numerical simulations presented here show that survival of gas giant planets at large separations from their host stars is very model dependent. Low-mass clumps in slowly cooling discs are found to accrete gas very slowly and migrate inward very rapidly in the well-known type I regime (no gap open). They are either tidally disrupted or survive as planets inwards of about 10 au. In this regime, probability of clump survival at large separations is extremely low, perhaps as low as 0.001, requiring up to a dozen clumps per star early on to explain the observed population. In contrast, initially massive clumps or low-mass clumps born in rapidly cooling discs accrete gas rapidly. Opening deep gaps in the disc, they migrate in the much slower type II regime and are more likely to survive beyond tens of au. The frequency of disc fragmentation in this case is at the per cent level if the clump growth saturates at brown dwarf masses but may be close to 100 per cent if clumps evolve into low stellar mass companions. Taking these theoretical uncertainties into account, current observations limit the number of planet mass clumps hatched by young massive discs around FGK stars to between 0.01 and ˜10. A deeper theoretical understanding of such discs is needed to narrow this uncertainty down.

ALMOST ALL OF KEPLER'S MULTIPLE-PLANET CANDIDATES ARE PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lissauer, Jack J.; Rowe, Jason F.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Howell, Steve B.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Kinemuchi, Karen; Koch, David G.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Adams, Elisabeth; Fressin, Francois; Geary, John; Holman, Matthew J.; Ragozzine, Darin; Buchhave, Lars A.; Ciardi, David R.; Cochran, William D.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Ford, Eric B.; Morehead, Robert C.; Gilliland, Ronald L.

2012-01-01

We present a statistical analysis that demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of Kepler candidate multiple transiting systems (multis) indeed represent true, physically associated transiting planets. Binary stars provide the primary source of false positives among Kepler planet candidates, implying that false positives should be nearly randomly distributed among Kepler targets. In contrast, true transiting planets would appear clustered around a smaller number of Kepler targets if detectable planets tend to come in systems and/or if the orbital planes of planets encircling the same star are correlated. There are more than one hundred times as many Kepler planet candidates in multi-candidate systems as would be predicted from a random distribution of candidates, implying that the vast majority are true planets. Most of these multis are multiple-planet systems orbiting the Kepler target star, but there are likely cases where (1) the planetary system orbits a fainter star, and the planets are thus significantly larger than has been estimated, or (2) the planets orbit different stars within a binary/multiple star system. We use the low overall false-positive rate among Kepler multis, together with analysis of Kepler spacecraft and ground-based data, to validate the closely packed Kepler-33 planetary system, which orbits a star that has evolved somewhat off of the main sequence. Kepler-33 hosts five transiting planets, with periods ranging from 5.67 to 41 days.

THE REFLECTION EFFECT IN INTERACTING BINARIES OR IN PLANET-STAR SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budaj, J.

2011-01-01

There are many similarities between interacting binary stars and stars with a close-in giant extrasolar planet. The reflection effect is a well-known example. Although the generally accepted treatment of this effect in interacting binaries is successful in fitting light curves of eclipsing binaries, it is not very suitable for studying cold objects irradiated by hot objects or extrasolar planets. The aim of this paper is to develop a model of the reflection effect which could be easily incorporated into the present codes for modeling of interacting binaries so that these can be used to study the aforementioned objects. Our model of the reflection effect takes into account the reflection (scattering), heating, and heat redistribution over the surface of the irradiated object. The shape of the object is described by the non-spherical Roche potential expected for close objects. Limb and gravity darkening are included in the calculations of the light output from the system. The model also accounts for the orbital revolution and rotation of the exoplanet with appropriate Doppler shifts for the scattered and thermal radiation. Subsequently, light curves and/or spectra of several exoplanets have been modeled and the effects of the heat redistribution, limb darkening/brightening, (non-)gray albedo, and non-spherical shape have been studied. Recent observations of planet-to-star flux ratio of HD189733b, WASP12b, and WASP-19b at various phases were reproduced with very good accuracy. It was found that HD189733b has a low Bond albedo and intense heat redistribution, while WASP-19b has a low Bond albedo and low heat redistribution. The exact Roche geometries and temperature distributions over the surface of all 78 transiting extrasolar planets have been determined. Departures from the spherical shape may vary considerably but departures of about 1% in the radius are common within the sample. In some cases, these departures can reach 8%, 12%, or 14%, for WASP-33b, WASP-19b, and

Constraints on planet formation from Kepler’s multiple planet systems

Science.gov (United States)

Quintana, Elisa V.

2015-01-01

The recent haul of hundreds of multiple planet systems discovered by Kepler provides a treasure trove of new clues for planet formation theories. The substantial amount of protoplanetary disk mass needed to form the most commonly observed multi-planet systems - small (Earth-sized to mini-Neptune-sized) planets close to their stars - argues against pure in situ formation and suggests that the planets in these systems must have undergone some form of migration. I will present results from numerical simulations of terrestrial planet formation that aim to reproduce the sizes and architecture of Kepler's multi-planet systems, and will discuss the observed resonances and giant planets (or the lack thereof) associated with these systems.

Possibilities for the detection of microbial life on extrasolar planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Knacke, Roger F

2003-01-01

We consider possibilities for the remote detection of microbial life on extrasolar planets. The Darwin/Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) telescope concepts for observations of terrestrial planets focus on indirect searches for life through the detection of atmospheric gases related to life processes. Direct detection of extraterrestrial life may also be possible through well-designed searches for microbial life forms. Satellites in Earth orbit routinely monitor colonies of terrestrial algae in oceans and lakes by analysis of reflected ocean light in the visible region of the spectrum. These remote sensing techniques suggest strategies for extrasolar searches for signatures of chlorophylls and related photosynthetic compounds associated with life. However, identification of such life-related compounds on extrasolar planets would require observations through strong, interfering absorptions and scattering radiances from the remote atmospheres and landmasses. Techniques for removal of interfering radiances have been extensively developed for remote sensing from Earth orbit. Comparable techniques would have to be developed for extrasolar planet observations also, but doing so would be challenging for a remote planet. Darwin/TPF coronagraph concepts operating in the visible seem to be best suited for searches for extrasolar microbial life forms with instruments that can be projected for the 2010-2020 decades, although resolution and signal-to-noise ratio constraints severely limit detection possibilities on terrestrial-type planets. The generation of telescopes with large apertures and extremely high spatial resolutions that will follow Darwin/TPF could offer striking possibilities for the direct detection of extrasolar microbial life.

A reappraisal of the habitability of planets around M dwarf stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarter, Jill C; Backus, Peter R; Mancinelli, Rocco L; Aurnou, Jonathan M; Backman, Dana E; Basri, Gibor S; Boss, Alan P; Clarke, Andrew; Deming, Drake; Doyle, Laurance R; Feigelson, Eric D; Freund, Friedmann; Grinspoon, David H; Haberle, Robert M; Hauck, Steven A; Heath, Martin J; Henry, Todd J; Hollingsworth, Jeffery L; Joshi, Manoj M; Kilston, Steven; Liu, Michael C; Meikle, Eric; Reid, I Neill; Rothschild, Lynn J; Scalo, John; Segura, Antigona; Tang, Carol M; Tiedje, James M; Turnbull, Margaret C; Walkowicz, Lucianne M; Weber, Arthur L; Young, Richard E

2007-02-01

Stable, hydrogen-burning, M dwarf stars make up about 75% of all stars in the Galaxy. They are extremely long-lived, and because they are much smaller in mass than the Sun (between 0.5 and 0.08 M(Sun)), their temperature and stellar luminosity are low and peaked in the red. We have re-examined what is known at present about the potential for a terrestrial planet forming within, or migrating into, the classic liquid-surface-water habitable zone close to an M dwarf star. Observations of protoplanetary disks suggest that planet-building materials are common around M dwarfs, but N-body simulations differ in their estimations of the likelihood of potentially habitable, wet planets that reside within their habitable zones, which are only about one-fifth to 1/50th of the width of that for a G star. Particularly in light of the claimed detection of the planets with masses as small as 5.5 and 7.5 M(Earth) orbiting M stars, there seems no reason to exclude the possibility of terrestrial planets. Tidally locked synchronous rotation within the narrow habitable zone does not necessarily lead to atmospheric collapse, and active stellar flaring may not be as much of an evolutionarily disadvantageous factor as has previously been supposed. We conclude that M dwarf stars may indeed be viable hosts for planets on which the origin and evolution of life can occur. A number of planetary processes such as cessation of geothermal activity or thermal and nonthermal atmospheric loss processes may limit the duration of planetary habitability to periods far shorter than the extreme lifetime of the M dwarf star. Nevertheless, it makes sense to include M dwarf stars in programs that seek to find habitable worlds and evidence of life. This paper presents the summary conclusions of an interdisciplinary workshop (http://mstars.seti.org) sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute and convened at the SETI Institute.

Occurrence and core-envelope structure of 1-4x Earth-size planets around Sun-like stars

OpenAIRE

Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Weiss, Lauren M.; Petigura, Erik A.; Isaacson, Howard; Howard, Andrew W.; Buchhave, Lars A.

2014-01-01

Small planets, 1-4x the size of Earth, are extremely common around Sun-like stars, and surprisingly so, as they are missing in our solar system. Recent detections have yielded enough information about this class of exoplanets to begin characterizing their occurrence rates, orbits, masses, densities, and internal structures. The Kepler mission finds the smallest planets to be most common, as 26% of Sun-like stars have small, 1-2 R_e planets with orbital periods under 100 days, and 11% have 1-2...

Definition of Physical Height Systems for Telluric Planets and Moons

Science.gov (United States)

Tenzer, Robert; Foroughi, Ismael; Sjöberg, Lars E.; Bagherbandi, Mohammad; Hirt, Christian; Pitoňák, Martin

2018-01-01

In planetary sciences, the geodetic (geometric) heights defined with respect to the reference surface (the sphere or the ellipsoid) or with respect to the center of the planet/moon are typically used for mapping topographic surface, compilation of global topographic models, detailed mapping of potential landing sites, and other space science and engineering purposes. Nevertheless, certain applications, such as studies of gravity-driven mass movements, require the physical heights to be defined with respect to the equipotential surface. Taking the analogy with terrestrial height systems, the realization of height systems for telluric planets and moons could be done by means of defining the orthometric and geoidal heights. In this case, however, the definition of the orthometric heights in principle differs. Whereas the terrestrial geoid is described as an equipotential surface that best approximates the mean sea level, such a definition for planets/moons is irrelevant in the absence of (liquid) global oceans. A more natural choice for planets and moons is to adopt the geoidal equipotential surface that closely approximates the geometric reference surface (the sphere or the ellipsoid). In this study, we address these aspects by proposing a more accurate approach for defining the orthometric heights for telluric planets and moons from available topographic and gravity models, while adopting the average crustal density in the absence of reliable crustal density models. In particular, we discuss a proper treatment of topographic masses in the context of gravimetric geoid determination. In numerical studies, we investigate differences between the geodetic and orthometric heights, represented by the geoidal heights, on Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Moon. Our results reveal that these differences are significant. The geoidal heights on Mercury vary from - 132 to 166 m. On Venus, the geoidal heights are between - 51 and 137 m with maxima on this planet at Atla Regio and Beta

Star Masses and Star-Planet Distances for Earth-like Habitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Waltham, David

2017-01-01

This paper presents statistical estimates for the location and duration of habitable zones (HZs) around stars of different mass. The approach is based upon the assumption that Earth's location, and the Sun's mass, should not be highly atypical of inhabited planets. The results support climate-model-based estimates for the location of the Sun's HZ except models giving a present-day outer-edge beyond 1.64 AU. The statistical approach also demonstrates that there is a habitability issue for stars smaller than 0.65 solar masses since, otherwise, Earth would be an extremely atypical inhabited world. It is difficult to remove this anomaly using the assumption that poor habitability of planets orbiting low-mass stars results from unfavorable radiation regimes either before, or after, their stars enter the main sequence. However, the anomaly is well explained if poor habitability results from tidal locking of planets in the HZs of small stars. The expected host-star mass for planets with intelligent life then has a 95% confidence range of 0.78 M ⊙ planets with at least simple life is 0.57 M ⊙  < M < 1.64 M ⊙ . Key Words: Habitability-Habitable zone-Anthropic-Red dwarfs-Initial mass function. Astrobiology 17, 61-77.

Detecting and taking into account possible impacts of climate change on hydrological extremes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renard, B.

2008-01-01

Climate change is widely considered as a reality by scientists. Nevertheless, impacts on hydrological extremes are more difficult to observe and to forecast. The aim of this thesis is to answer the following questions: How to detect changes in hydro-climatic series? What are the observed changes for extreme discharges in France? How to take into account possible changes in frequency analysis? These objectives refer to both local and regional scales. This paper describes the developments related to the third question. In a first step, the concept of return period is revisited in a non-stationary context. Frequency analysis methods are then updated in order to account for evolutions in time. This is achieved by modelling trends affecting the distribution parameters. Parameter estimation uses the Bayesian formalism, which is a convenient tool for quantifying the uncertainty related to the stationarity hypothesis. This approach can be generalized at the regional scale, by means of non-stationary regional models. Such models are more general than the model underlying the index flood method. However, results of such a regional analysis are affected by the spatial dependence existing between studied sites. Impacts of this dependence on quantile estimates are highlighted, and a first approach is proposed in order to explicitly model spatial dependence. (author)

EFFECTS OF DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION OF GIANT PLANETS ON SURVIVAL OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumura, Soko; Ida, Shigeru; Nagasawa, Makiko

2013-01-01

The orbital distributions of currently observed extrasolar giant planets allow marginally stable orbits for hypothetical, terrestrial planets. In this paper, we propose that many of these systems may not have additional planets on these ''stable'' orbits, since past dynamical instability among giant planets could have removed them. We numerically investigate the effects of early evolution of multiple giant planets on the orbital stability of the inner, sub-Neptune-like planets which are modeled as test particles, and determine their dynamically unstable region. Previous studies have shown that the majority of such test particles are ejected out of the system as a result of close encounters with giant planets. Here, we show that secular perturbations from giant planets can remove test particles at least down to 10 times smaller than their minimum pericenter distance. Our results indicate that, unless the dynamical instability among giant planets is either absent or quiet like planet-planet collisions, most test particles down to ∼0.1 AU within the orbits of giant planets at a few AU may be gone. In fact, out of ∼30% of survived test particles, about three quarters belong to the planet-planet collision cases. We find a good agreement between our numerical results and the secular theory, and present a semi-analytical formula which estimates the dynamically unstable region of the test particles just from the evolution of giant planets. Finally, our numerical results agree well with the observations, and also predict the existence of hot rocky planets in eccentric giant planet systems.

Searching for New Earths: Teaching Children How We Seek Distant Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Pulliam, C.

2008-06-01

Teaching science to children ages 8-13 can be a great challenge, especially if you lack the resources for a full-blown audio/visual presentation. How do you hold their attention and get them involved? One method is to teach a topic no one else covers at this educational level: something exciting and up-to-the-minute, at the cutting edge of science. We developed an interactive 45-minute presentation to convey the two basic techniques used to locate planets orbiting other stars. Activities allowed children to hunt for their own planets in simulated data sets. We also stimulated their imagination by giving each child a take-home, multicolored marble ``planet'' and asking them to discuss their planet's characteristics. The resulting presentation ``Searching for New Earths'' could be adapted to a variety of educational settings.

A Planet Soon to Meet Its Demise

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-02-01

A tiny telescope has discovered a scalding hot world orbiting its star 1,300 light-years from us. KELT-16b may only be around for a few more hundreds of thousands of years, however.Dont Underestimate Tiny TelescopesThe KELT-North telescope in Arizona. This tiny telescope was responsible for the discovery of KELT-16b. [Vanderbilt University]In an era of ever larger observatories, you might think that theres no longer a place for small-aperture ground-based telescopes. But small ground-based telescopes have been responsible for the discovery and characterization of around 250 exoplanets so far and these are the targets that are especially useful for exoplanet science, as they aremore easily followed up than the faint discoveries made by telescopes like Kepler.The Kilogree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) consists of two telescopes one in Arizona and one in South Africa that each have a 4.2-centimeter aperture. In total, KELT observes roughly 70% of the entire sky searching for planets transiting bright hosts. And its recently found quite an interesting one: KELT-16b. In a publication led by Thomas Oberst (Westminster College in Pennsylvania), a team of scientists presents their find.Combined follow-up light curves obtained for KELT-16b from 19 transits. The best-fit period is just under a day. [Oberst et al. 2017]A Hot WorldKELT-16b is whats known as a hot Jupiter. Using the KELT data and follow-up observations of 19 transits, Oberst and collaborators estimate KELT-16bs radius at roughly 1.4 times that of Jupiter and its mass at 2.75 times Jupiters. Its equilibrium temperature is a scalding 2453 K caused by the fact that it orbits so close to its host star that it completes each orbit in a mere 0.97 days!This short period is extremely unusual: there are only five other known transiting exoplanets with periods shorter than a day. KELT-16b is orbiting very close to its host, making it subject to extreme irradiation and strong tidal forces.Based on KELT-16bs orbit

PLANET HUNTERS: ASSESSING THE KEPLER INVENTORY OF SHORT-PERIOD PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Lintott, Chris J.; Lynn, Stuart; Smith, Arfon M.; Simpson, Robert J.; Fischer, Debra A.; Giguere, Matthew J.; Brewer, John M.; Parrish, Michael; Schawinski, Kevin

2012-01-01

We present the results from a search of data from the first 33.5 days of the Kepler science mission (Quarter 1) for exoplanet transits by the Planet Hunters citizen science project. Planet Hunters enlists members of the general public to visually identify transits in the publicly released Kepler light curves via the World Wide Web. Over 24,000 volunteers reviewed the Kepler Quarter 1 data set. We examine the abundance of ≥2 R ⊕ planets on short-period ( ⊕ Planet Hunters ≥85% efficient at identifying transit signals for planets with periods less than 15 days for the Kepler sample of target stars. Our high efficiency rate for simulated transits along with recovery of the majority of Kepler ≥4 R ⊕ planets suggests that the Kepler inventory of ≥4 R ⊕ short-period planets is nearly complete.

ON THE VALIDITY OF THE 'HILL RADIUS CRITERION' FOR THE EJECTION OF PLANETS FROM STELLAR HABITABLE ZONES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cuntz, M.; Yeager, K. E.

2009-01-01

We challenge the customary assumption that the entering of an Earth-mass planet into the Hill radius (or multiples of the Hill radius) of a giant planet is a valid criterion for its ejection from the star-planet system. This assumption has widely been used in previous studies, especially those with an astrobiological focus. As intriguing examples, we explore the dynamics of the systems HD 20782 and HD 188015. Each system possesses a giant planet that remains in or crosses into the stellar habitable zone, thus effectively thwarting the possibility of habitable terrestrial planets. In the case of HD 188015, the orbit of the giant planet is almost circular, whereas in the case of HD 20782, it is extremely elliptical. Although it is found that Earth-mass planets are eventually ejected from the habitable zones of these systems, the 'Hill Radius Criterion' is identified as invalid for the prediction of when the ejection is actually occurring.

Planet Formation Imager (PFI): science vision and key requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Stefan; Monnier, John D.; Ireland, Michael J.; Duchêne, Gaspard; Espaillat, Catherine; Hönig, Sebastian; Juhasz, Attila; Mordasini, Chris; Olofsson, Johan; Paladini, Claudia; Stassun, Keivan; Turner, Neal; Vasisht, Gautam; Harries, Tim J.; Bate, Matthew R.; Gonzalez, Jean-François; Matter, Alexis; Zhu, Zhaohuan; Panic, Olja; Regaly, Zsolt; Morbidelli, Alessandro; Meru, Farzana; Wolf, Sebastian; Ilee, John; Berger, Jean-Philippe; Zhao, Ming; Kral, Quentin; Morlok, Andreas; Bonsor, Amy; Ciardi, David; Kane, Stephen R.; Kratter, Kaitlin; Laughlin, Greg; Pepper, Joshua; Raymond, Sean; Labadie, Lucas; Nelson, Richard P.; Weigelt, Gerd; ten Brummelaar, Theo; Pierens, Arnaud; Oudmaijer, Rene; Kley, Wilhelm; Pope, Benjamin; Jensen, Eric L. N.; Bayo, Amelia; Smith, Michael; Boyajian, Tabetha; Quiroga-Nuñez, Luis Henry; Millan-Gabet, Rafael; Chiavassa, Andrea; Gallenne, Alexandre; Reynolds, Mark; de Wit, Willem-Jan; Wittkowski, Markus; Millour, Florentin; Gandhi, Poshak; Ramos Almeida, Cristina; Alonso Herrero, Almudena; Packham, Chris; Kishimoto, Makoto; Tristram, Konrad R. W.; Pott, Jörg-Uwe; Surdej, Jean; Buscher, David; Haniff, Chris; Lacour, Sylvestre; Petrov, Romain; Ridgway, Steve; Tuthill, Peter; van Belle, Gerard; Armitage, Phil; Baruteau, Clement; Benisty, Myriam; Bitsch, Bertram; Paardekooper, Sijme-Jan; Pinte, Christophe; Masset, Frederic; Rosotti, Giovanni

2016-08-01

The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) project aims to provide a strong scientific vision for ground-based optical astronomy beyond the upcoming generation of Extremely Large Telescopes. We make the case that a breakthrough in angular resolution imaging capabilities is required in order to unravel the processes involved in planet formation. PFI will be optimised to provide a complete census of the protoplanet population at all stellocentric radii and over the age range from 0.1 to 100 Myr. Within this age period, planetary systems undergo dramatic changes and the final architecture of planetary systems is determined. Our goal is to study the planetary birth on the natural spatial scale where the material is assembled, which is the "Hill Sphere" of the forming planet, and to characterise the protoplanetary cores by measuring their masses and physical properties. Our science working group has investigated the observational characteristics of these young protoplanets as well as the migration mechanisms that might alter the system architecture. We simulated the imprints that the planets leave in the disk and study how PFI could revolutionise areas ranging from exoplanet to extragalactic science. In this contribution we outline the key science drivers of PFI and discuss the requirements that will guide the technology choices, the site selection, and potential science/technology tradeoffs.

ALMOST ALL OF KEPLER'S MULTIPLE-PLANET CANDIDATES ARE PLANETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lissauer, Jack J.; Rowe, Jason F.; Bryson, Stephen T.; Howell, Steve B.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Kinemuchi, Karen; Koch, David G. [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Marcy, Geoffrey W. [Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Adams, Elisabeth; Fressin, Francois; Geary, John; Holman, Matthew J.; Ragozzine, Darin [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Buchhave, Lars A. [Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen (Denmark); Ciardi, David R. [Exoplanet Science Institute/Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Cochran, William D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Fabrycky, Daniel C. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Ford, Eric B.; Morehead, Robert C. [University of Florida, 211 Bryant Space Science Center, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Gilliland, Ronald L., E-mail: Jack.Lissauer@nasa.gov [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); and others

2012-05-10

We present a statistical analysis that demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of Kepler candidate multiple transiting systems (multis) indeed represent true, physically associated transiting planets. Binary stars provide the primary source of false positives among Kepler planet candidates, implying that false positives should be nearly randomly distributed among Kepler targets. In contrast, true transiting planets would appear clustered around a smaller number of Kepler targets if detectable planets tend to come in systems and/or if the orbital planes of planets encircling the same star are correlated. There are more than one hundred times as many Kepler planet candidates in multi-candidate systems as would be predicted from a random distribution of candidates, implying that the vast majority are true planets. Most of these multis are multiple-planet systems orbiting the Kepler target star, but there are likely cases where (1) the planetary system orbits a fainter star, and the planets are thus significantly larger than has been estimated, or (2) the planets orbit different stars within a binary/multiple star system. We use the low overall false-positive rate among Kepler multis, together with analysis of Kepler spacecraft and ground-based data, to validate the closely packed Kepler-33 planetary system, which orbits a star that has evolved somewhat off of the main sequence. Kepler-33 hosts five transiting planets, with periods ranging from 5.67 to 41 days.

Planet Detectability in the Alpha Centauri System

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Zhao, Lily; Fischer, Debra A.; Brewer, John; Giguere, Matt; Rojas-Ayala, Bárbara

2018-01-01

We use more than a decade of radial-velocity measurements for α {Cen} A, B, and Proxima Centauri from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, CTIO High Resolution Spectrograph, and the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph to identify the M\\sin i and orbital periods of planets that could have been detected if they existed. At each point in a mass–period grid, we sample a simulated, Keplerian signal with the precision and cadence of existing data and assess the probability that the signal could have been produced by noise alone. Existing data places detection thresholds in the classically defined habitable zones at about M\\sin i of 53 {M}\\oplus for α {Cen} A, 8.4 {M}\\oplus for α {Cen} B, and 0.47 {M}\\oplus for Proxima Centauri. Additionally, we examine the impact of systematic errors, or “red noise” in the data. A comparison of white- and red-noise simulations highlights quasi-periodic variability in the radial velocities that may be caused by systematic errors, photospheric velocity signals, or planetary signals. For example, the red-noise simulations show a peak above white-noise simulations at the period of Proxima Centauri b. We also carry out a spectroscopic analysis of the chemical composition of the α {Centauri} stars. The stars have super-solar metallicity with ratios of C/O and Mg/Si that are similar to the Sun, suggesting that any small planets in the α {Cen} system may be compositionally similar to our terrestrial planets. Although the small projected separation of α {Cen} A and B currently hampers extreme-precision radial-velocity measurements, the angular separation is now increasing. By 2019, α {Cen} A and B will be ideal targets for renewed Doppler planet surveys.

The Earth: A Changing Planet

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Ribas, Núria; Màrquez, Conxita

2013-04-01

text: We describe a didactic unit that rises from our own living impression about our experience on the planet. Most of us feel the Earth to be a very static place. Rocks don't easily move and most landscapes always look the same over time. Anyone would say (the same way most scientists believed until the beginning of the last century) that our planet has always remained unchanged, never transformed. But then, all of a sudden, as a misfortune for so many humans, natural hazards appear on the scene: an earthquake causing so many disasters, a tsunami carrying away everything in its path, an eruption that can destroy huge surrounding areas but also bring new geographical relief. Science cannot remain oblivious to these events, we must wonder beyond. What does an earthquake mean? Why does it happen? What about an eruption? If it comes from the inside, what can we guess from it? Researching about all of these events, scientists have been able to arrive to some important knowledge of the planet itself: It has been possible to theorize about Earth's interior. It has also been confirmed that the planet has not always been the quiet and stable place we once thought. Continents, as Wegener supposed, do move about and the Tectonic Plates Theory, thanks to the information obtained through earthquakes and eruption, can provide some interesting explanations. But how do we know about our planet's past? How can we prove that the Earth has always been moving and that its surface changes? The Earth's rocks yield the answer. Rocks have been the only witnesses throughout millions of years, since the planet first came to existence. Let's learn how to read them… Shouldn't we realize that rocks are to Geology what books are to History? This discursive process has been distributed in four learning sequences: 1. Land is not as solid nor firm as it would seem, 2. The Earth planet: a puzzle, 3. The rocks also recycle , 4. Field trip to "Sant Miquel del Fai". The subjects take about 30

Observsational Planet Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Ruobing; Zhu, Zhaohuan; Fung, Jeffrey

2017-06-01

Planets form in gaseous protoplanetary disks surrounding newborn stars. As such, the most direct way to learn how they form from observations, is to directly watch them forming in disks. In the past, this was very difficult due to a lack of observational capabilities; as such, planet formation was largely a subject of pure theoretical astrophysics. Now, thanks to a fleet of new instruments with unprecedented resolving power that have come online recently, we have just started to unveil features in resolve images of protoplanetary disks, such as gaps and spiral arms, that are most likely associated with embedded (unseen) planets. By comparing observations with theoretical models of planet-disk interactions, the masses and orbits of these still forming planets may be constrained. Such planets may help us to directly test various planet formation models. This marks the onset of a new field — observational planet formation. I will introduce the current status of this field.

White dwarf planets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonsor Amy

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The recognition that planets may survive the late stages of stellar evolution, and the prospects for finding them around White Dwarfs, are growing. We discuss two aspects governing planetary survival through stellar evolution to the White Dwarf stage. First we discuss the case of a single planet, and its survival under the effects of stellar mass loss, radius expansion, and tidal orbital decay as the star evolves along the Asymptotic Giant Branch. We show that, for stars initially of 1 − 5 M⊙, any planets within about 1 − 5 AU will be engulfed, this distance depending on the stellar and planet masses and the planet's eccentricity. Planets engulfed by the star's envelope are unlikely to survive. Hence, planets surviving the Asymptotic Giant Branch phase will probably be found beyond ∼ 2 AU for a 1  M⊙ progenitor and ∼ 10 AU for a 5 M⊙ progenitor. We then discuss the evolution of two-planet systems around evolving stars. As stars lose mass, planet–planet interactions become stronger, and many systems stable on the Main Sequence become destabilised following evolution of the primary. The outcome of such instabilities is typically the ejection of one planet, with the survivor being left on an eccentric orbit. These eccentric planets could in turn be responsible for feeding planetesimals into the neighbourhood of White Dwarfs, causing observed pollution and circumstellar discs.

Limits On Undetected Planets in the Six Transiting Planets Kepler-11 System

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Lissauer, Jack

2017-01-01

The Kepler-11 has five inner planets ranging from approx. 2 - 1 times as massive Earth in a tightly-packed configuration, with orbital periods between 10 and 47 days. A sixth planet, Kepler-11 g, with a period of118 days, is also observed. The spacing between planets Kepler-11 f and Kepler-11 g is wide enough to allow room for a planet to orbit stably between them. We compare six and seven planet fits to measured transit timing variations (TTVs) of the six known planets. We find that in most cases an additional planet between Kepler-11 f and Kepler-11 g degrades rather than enhances the fit to the TTV data, and where the fit is improved, the improvement provides no significant evidence of a planet between Kepler-11 f and Kepler-11 g. This implies that any planet in this region must be low in mass. We also provide constraints on undiscovered planets orbiting exterior to Kepler-11 g. representations will be described.

Predicting the Atmospheric Composition of Extrasolar Giant Planets

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Sharp, A. G.; Moses, J. I.; Friedson, A. J.; Fegley, B., Jr.; Marley, M. S.; Lodders, K.

2004-01-01

To date, approximately 120 planet-sized objects have been discovered around other stars, mostly through the radial-velocity technique. This technique can provide information about a planet s minimum mass and its orbital period and distance; however, few other planetary data can be obtained at this point in time unless we are fortunate enough to find an extrasolar giant planet that transits its parent star (i.e., the orbit is edge-on as seen from Earth). In that situation, many physical properties of the planet and its parent star can be determined, including some compositional information. Our prospects of directly obtaining spectra from extrasolar planets may improve in the near future, through missions like NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder. Most of the extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) discovered so far have masses equal to or greater than Jupiter's mass, and roughly 16% have orbital radii less than 0.1 AU - extremely close to the parent star by our own Solar-System standards (note that Mercury is located at a mean distance of 0.39 AU and Jupiter at 5.2 AU from the Sun). Although all EGPs are expected to have hydrogen-dominated atmospheres similar to Jupiter, the orbital distance can strongly affect the planet's temperature, physical, chemical, and spectral properties, and the abundance of minor, detectable atmospheric constituents. Thermochemical equilibrium models can provide good zero-order predictions for the atmospheric composition of EGPs. However, both the composition and spectral properties will depend in large part on disequilibrium processes like photochemistry, chemical kinetics, atmospheric transport, and haze formation. We have developed a photochemical kinetics, radiative transfer, and 1-D vertical transport model to study the atmospheric composition of EGPs. The chemical reaction list contains H-, C-, O-, and N-bearing species and is designed to be valid for atmospheric temperatures ranging from 100-3000 K and pressures up to 50 bar. Here we examine

Extremely Low Mass: The Circumstellar Envelope of a Potential Proto-Brown Dwarf

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Wiseman, Jennifer

2011-01-01

What is the environment for planet formation around extremely low mass stars? Is the environment around brown dwarfs and extremely low mass stars conducive and sufficiently massive for planet production? The determining conditions may be set very early in the process of the host object's formation. IRAS 16253-2429, the source of the Wasp-Waist Nebula seen in Spitzer IRAC images, is an isolated, very low luminosity ("VeLLO") Class 0 protostar in the nearby rho Ophiuchi cloud. We present VLA ammonia mapping observations of the dense gas envelope feeding the central core accreting system. We find a flattened envelope perpendicular to the outflow axis, and gas cavities that appear to cradle the outflow lobes as though carved out by the flow and associated (apparently precessing) jet, indicating environmental disruption. Based on the NH3 (1,1) and (2,2) emission distribution, we derive the mass, velocity fields and temperature distribution for the envelope. We discuss the combined evidence for this source to be one of the youngest and lowest mass sources in formation yet known, and discuss the ramifications for planet formation potential in this extremely low mass system.

Extrasolar planets: constraints for planet formation models.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Nuno C; Benz, Willy; Mayor, Michel

2005-10-14

Since 1995, more than 150 extrasolar planets have been discovered, most of them in orbits quite different from those of the giant planets in our own solar system. The number of discovered extrasolar planets demonstrates that planetary systems are common but also that they may possess a large variety of properties. As the number of detections grows, statistical studies of the properties of exoplanets and their host stars can be conducted to unravel some of the key physical and chemical processes leading to the formation of planetary systems.

Colors of extreme exo-Earth environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Hegde, Siddharth; Kaltenegger, Lisa

2013-01-01

The search for extrasolar planets has already detected rocky planets and several planetary candidates with minimum masses that are consistent with rocky planets in the habitable zone of their host stars. A low-resolution spectrum in the form of a color-color diagram of an exoplanet is likely to be one of the first post-detection quantities to be measured for the case of direct detection. In this paper, we explore potentially detectable surface features on rocky exoplanets and their connection to, and importance as, a habitat for extremophiles, as known on Earth. Extremophiles provide us with the minimum known envelope of environmental limits for life on our planet. The color of a planet reveals information on its properties, especially for surface features of rocky planets with clear atmospheres. We use filter photometry in the visible as a first step in the characterization of rocky exoplanets to prioritize targets for follow-up spectroscopy. Many surface environments on Earth have characteristic albedos and occupy a different color space in the visible waveband (0.4-0.9 μm) that can be distinguished remotely. These detectable surface features can be linked to the extreme niches that support extremophiles on Earth and provide a link between geomicrobiology and observational astronomy. This paper explores how filter photometry can serve as a first step in characterizing Earth-like exoplanets for an aerobic as well as an anaerobic atmosphere, thereby prioritizing targets to search for atmospheric biosignatures.

Origins and Destinations: Tracking Planet Composition through Planet Formation Simulations

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Chance, Quadry; Ballard, Sarah

2018-01-01

There are now several thousand confirmed exoplanets, a number which far exceeds our resources to study them all in detail. In particular, planets around M dwarfs provide the best opportunity for in-depth study of their atmospheres by telescopes in the near future. The question of which M dwarf planets most merit follow-up resources is a pressing one, given that NASA’s TESS mission will soon find hundreds of such planets orbiting stars bright enough for both ground and spaced-based follow-up.Our work aims to predict the approximate composition of planets around these stars through n-body simulations of the last stage of planet formation. With a variety of initial disk conditions, we investigate how the relative abundances of both refractory and volatile compounds in the primordial planetesimals are mapped to the final planet outcomes. These predictions can serve to provide a basis for making an educated guess about (a) which planets to observe with precious resources like JWST and (b) how to identify them based on dynamical clues.

Planet logy : Towards Comparative Planet logy beyond the Solar Earth System

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Khan, A. H.

2011-10-01

Today Scenario planet logy is a very important concept because now days the scientific research finding new and new planets and our work's range becoming too long. In the previous study shows about 10-12 years the research of planet logy now has changed . Few years ago we was talking about Sun planet, Earth planet , Moon ,Mars Jupiter & Venus etc. included but now the time has totally changed the recent studies showed that mono lakes California find the arsenic food use by micro organism that show that our study is very tiny as compare to planet long areas .We have very well known that arsenic is the toxic agent's and the toxic agent's present in the lakes and micro organism developing and life going on it's a unbelievable point for us but nature always play a magical games. In few years ago Aliens was the story no one believe the Aliens origin but now the aliens showed catch by our space craft and shuttle and every one believe that Aliens origin but at the moment's I would like to mention one point's that we have too more work required because our planet logy has a vast field. Most of the time our scientific mission shows that this planet found liquid oxygen ,this planet found hydrogen .I would like to clear that point's that all planet logy depend in to the chemical and these chemical gave the indication of the life but we are not abele to developed the adaptation according to the micro organism . Planet logy compare before study shows that Sun it's a combination of the various gases combination surrounded in a round form and now the central Sun Planets ,moons ,comets and asteroids In other word we can say that Or Sun has a wide range of the physical and Chemical properties in the after the development we can say that all chemical and physical property engaged with a certain environment and form a various contains like asteroids, moon, Comets etc. Few studies shows that other planet life affected to the out living planet .We can assure with the example the life

Planet population synthesis driven by pebble accretion in cluster environments

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Ndugu, N.; Bitsch, B.; Jurua, E.

2018-02-01

The evolution of protoplanetary discs embedded in stellar clusters depends on the age and the stellar density in which they are embedded. Stellar clusters of young age and high stellar surface density destroy protoplanetary discs by external photoevaporation and stellar encounters. Here, we consider the effect of background heating from newly formed stellar clusters on the structure of protoplanetary discs and how it affects the formation of planets in these discs. Our planet formation model is built on the core accretion scenario, where we take the reduction of the core growth time-scale due to pebble accretion into account. We synthesize planet populations that we compare to observations obtained by radial velocity measurements. The giant planets in our simulations migrate over large distances due to the fast type-II migration regime induced by a high disc viscosity (α = 5.4 × 10-3). Cold Jupiters (rp > 1 au) originate preferably from the outer disc, due to the large-scale planetary migration, while hot Jupiters (rp meaning that more gas giants are formed at larger metallicity. However, our synthetic population of isolated stars host a significant amount of giant planets even at low metallicity, in contradiction to observations where giant planets are preferably found around high metallicity stars, indicating that pebble accretion is very efficient in the standard pebble accretion framework. On the other hand, discs around stars embedded in cluster environments hardly form any giant planets at low metallicity in agreement with observations, where these changes originate from the increased temperature in the outer parts of the disc, which prolongs the core accretion time-scale of the planet. We therefore conclude that the outer disc structure and the planet's formation location determines the giant planet occurrence rate and the formation efficiency of cold and hot Jupiters.

THE RINGS OF CHARIKLO UNDER CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE GIANT PLANETS

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Araujo, R. A. N.; Sfair, R.; Winter, O. C., E-mail: ran.araujo@gmail.com, E-mail: rsfair@feg.unesp.br, E-mail: ocwinter@gmail.com [UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista, Grupo de Dinâmica Orbital e Planetologia, CEP 12516-410, Guaratingueta, SP (Brazil)

2016-06-20

The Centaur population is composed of minor bodies wandering between the giant planets that frequently perform close gravitational encounters with these planets, leading to a chaotic orbital evolution. Recently, the discovery of two well-defined narrow rings was announced around the Centaur 10199 Chariklo. The rings are assumed to be in the equatorial plane of Chariklo and to have circular orbits. The existence of a well-defined system of rings around a body in such a perturbed orbital region poses an interesting new problem. Are the rings of Chariklo stable when perturbed by close gravitational encounters with the giant planets? Our approach to address this question consisted of forward and backward numerical simulations of 729 clones of Chariklo, with similar initial orbits, for a period of 100 Myr. We found, on average, that each clone experiences during its lifetime more than 150 close encounters with the giant planets within one Hill radius of the planet in question. We identified some extreme close encounters that were able to significantly disrupt or disturb the rings of Chariklo. About 3% of the clones lose their rings and about 4% of the clones have their rings significantly disturbed. Therefore, our results show that in most cases (more than 90%), the close encounters with the giant planets do not affect the stability of the rings in Chariklo-like systems. Thus, if there is an efficient mechanism that creates the rings, then these structures may be common among these kinds of Centaurs.

Born dry in the photoevaporation desert: Kepler's ultra-short-period planets formed water-poor

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Eric D.

2017-11-01

Recent surveys have uncovered an exciting new population of ultra-short-period (USP) planets with orbital periods less than a day. These planets typically have radii ≲1.5 R⊕, indicating that they likely have rocky compositions. This stands in contrast to the overall distribution of planets out to ∼100 d, which is dominated by low-density sub-Neptunes above 2 R⊕, which must have gaseous envelopes to explain their size. However, on the USP orbits, planets are bombarded by intense levels of photoionizing radiation and consequently gaseous sub-Neptunes are extremely vulnerable to losing their envelopes to atmospheric photoevaporation. Using models of planet evolution, I show that the rocky USP planets can easily be produced as the evaporated remnants of sub-Neptunes with H/He envelopes and that we can therefore understand the observed dearth of USP sub-Neptunes as a natural consequence of photoevaporation. Critically however, planets on USP orbits could often retain their envelopes if they are formed with very high-metallicity water-dominated envelopes. Such water-rich planets would commonly be ≳2 R⊕ today, which is inconsistent with the observed evaporation desert, indicating that most USP planets likely formed from water-poor material within the snow-line. Finally, I examine the special case of 55 Cancri e and its possible composition in the light of recent observations, and discuss the prospects for further characterizing this population with future observations.

Terrestrial planet formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Righter, K; O'Brien, D P

2011-11-29

Advances in our understanding of terrestrial planet formation have come from a multidisciplinary approach. Studies of the ages and compositions of primitive meteorites with compositions similar to the Sun have helped to constrain the nature of the building blocks of planets. This information helps to guide numerical models for the three stages of planet formation from dust to planetesimals (~10(6) y), followed by planetesimals to embryos (lunar to Mars-sized objects; few 10(6) y), and finally embryos to planets (10(7)-10(8) y). Defining the role of turbulence in the early nebula is a key to understanding the growth of solids larger than meter size. The initiation of runaway growth of embryos from planetesimals ultimately leads to the growth of large terrestrial planets via large impacts. Dynamical models can produce inner Solar System configurations that closely resemble our Solar System, especially when the orbital effects of large planets (Jupiter and Saturn) and damping mechanisms, such as gas drag, are included. Experimental studies of terrestrial planet interiors provide additional constraints on the conditions of differentiation and, therefore, origin. A more complete understanding of terrestrial planet formation might be possible via a combination of chemical and physical modeling, as well as obtaining samples and new geophysical data from other planets (Venus, Mars, or Mercury) and asteroids.

PLANET-PLANET SCATTERING IN PLANETESIMAL DISKS. II. PREDICTIONS FOR OUTER EXTRASOLAR PLANETARY SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raymond, Sean N.; Armitage, Philip J.; Gorelick, Noel

2010-01-01

We develop an idealized dynamical model to predict the typical properties of outer extrasolar planetary systems, at radii comparable to the Jupiter-to-Neptune region of the solar system. The model is based upon the hypothesis that dynamical evolution in outer planetary systems is controlled by a combination of planet-planet scattering and planetary interactions with an exterior disk of small bodies ('planetesimals'). Our results are based on 5000 long duration N-body simulations that follow the evolution of three planets from a few to 10 AU, together with a planetesimal disk containing 50 M + from 10 to 20 AU. For large planet masses (M ∼> M Sat ), the model recovers the observed eccentricity distribution of extrasolar planets. For lower-mass planets, the range of outcomes in models with disks is far greater than that which is seen in isolated planet-planet scattering. Common outcomes include strong scattering among massive planets, sudden jumps in eccentricity due to resonance crossings driven by divergent migration, and re-circularization of scattered low-mass planets in the outer disk. We present the distributions of the eccentricity and inclination that result, and discuss how they vary with planet mass and initial system architecture. In agreement with other studies, we find that the currently observed eccentricity distribution (derived primarily from planets at a ∼ -1 and periods in excess of 10 years will provide constraints on this regime. Finally, we present an analysis of the predicted separation of planets in two-planet systems, and of the population of planets in mean-motion resonances (MMRs). We show that, if there are systems with ∼ Jupiter-mass planets that avoid close encounters, the planetesimal disk acts as a damping mechanism and populates MMRs at a very high rate (50%-80%). In many cases, resonant chains (in particular the 4:2:1 Laplace resonance) are set up among all three planets. We expect such resonant chains to be common among massive

Planet traps and first planets: The critical metallicity for gas giant formation

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Hasegawa, Yasuhiro; Hirashita, Hiroyuki, E-mail: yasu@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw, E-mail: hirashita@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (ASIAA), P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China)

2014-06-10

The ubiquity of planets poses an interesting question: when are first planets formed in galaxies? We investigate this by adopting a theoretical model where planet traps are combined with the standard core accretion scenario in which the efficiency of forming planetary cores directly relates to the metallicity ([Fe/H]) in disks. Three characteristic exoplanetary populations are examined: hot Jupiters, exo-Jupiters around 1 AU, and low-mass planets in tight orbits, such as super-Earths. We statistically compute planet formation frequencies (PFFs), as well as the orbital radius (〈R{sub rapid}〉) within which gas accretion becomes efficient enough to form Jovian planets, as a function of metallicity (–2 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤–0.6). We show that the total PFFs for these three populations increase steadily with metallicity. This is the direct outcome of the core accretion picture. For the metallicity range considered here, the population of low-mass planets dominates Jovian planets. The Jovian planets contribute to the PFFs above [Fe/H] ≅ –1. We find that the hot Jupiters form more efficiently than the exo-Jupiters at [Fe/H] ≲ –0.7. This arises from the slower growth of planetary cores and their more efficient radial inward transport by the host traps in lower metallicity disks. We show that the critical metallicity for forming Jovian planets is [Fe/H] ≅ –1.2 by comparing 〈R{sub rapid}〉 of hot Jupiters and low-mass planets. The comparison intrinsically links to the different gas accretion efficiency between these two types of planets. Therefore, this study implies that important physical processes in planet formation may be tested by exoplanet observations around metal-poor stars.

Planet traps and first planets: The critical metallicity for gas giant formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, Yasuhiro; Hirashita, Hiroyuki

2014-01-01

The ubiquity of planets poses an interesting question: when are first planets formed in galaxies? We investigate this by adopting a theoretical model where planet traps are combined with the standard core accretion scenario in which the efficiency of forming planetary cores directly relates to the metallicity ([Fe/H]) in disks. Three characteristic exoplanetary populations are examined: hot Jupiters, exo-Jupiters around 1 AU, and low-mass planets in tight orbits, such as super-Earths. We statistically compute planet formation frequencies (PFFs), as well as the orbital radius (〈R rapid 〉) within which gas accretion becomes efficient enough to form Jovian planets, as a function of metallicity (–2 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤–0.6). We show that the total PFFs for these three populations increase steadily with metallicity. This is the direct outcome of the core accretion picture. For the metallicity range considered here, the population of low-mass planets dominates Jovian planets. The Jovian planets contribute to the PFFs above [Fe/H] ≅ –1. We find that the hot Jupiters form more efficiently than the exo-Jupiters at [Fe/H] ≲ –0.7. This arises from the slower growth of planetary cores and their more efficient radial inward transport by the host traps in lower metallicity disks. We show that the critical metallicity for forming Jovian planets is [Fe/H] ≅ –1.2 by comparing 〈R rapid 〉 of hot Jupiters and low-mass planets. The comparison intrinsically links to the different gas accretion efficiency between these two types of planets. Therefore, this study implies that important physical processes in planet formation may be tested by exoplanet observations around metal-poor stars.

PLANET-PLANET SCATTERING LEADS TO TIGHTLY PACKED PLANETARY SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raymond, Sean N.; Barnes, Rory; Veras, Dimitri; Armitage, Philip J.; Gorelick, Noel; Greenberg, Richard

2009-01-01

The known extrasolar multiple-planet systems share a surprising dynamical attribute: they cluster just beyond the Hill stability boundary. Here we show that the planet-planet scattering model, which naturally explains the observed exoplanet eccentricity distribution, can reproduce the observed distribution of dynamical configurations. We calculated how each of our scattered systems would appear over an appropriate range of viewing geometries; as Hill stability is weakly dependent on the masses, the mass-inclination degeneracy does not significantly affect our results. We consider a wide range of initial planetary mass distributions and find that some are poor fits to the observed systems. In fact, many of our scattering experiments overproduce systems very close to the stability boundary. The distribution of dynamical configurations of two-planet systems may provide better discrimination between scattering models than the distribution of eccentricity. Our results imply that, at least in their inner regions which are weakly affected by gas or planetesimal disks, planetary systems should be 'packed', with no large gaps between planets.

Planet-planet scattering leads to tightly packed planetary systems

OpenAIRE

Raymond, Sean N.; Barnes, Rory; Veras, Dimitri; Armitage, Philip J.; Gorelick, Noel; Greenberg, Richard

2009-01-01

The known extrasolar multiple-planet systems share a surprising dynamical attribute: they cluster just beyond the Hill stability boundary. Here we show that the planet-planet scattering model, which naturally explains the observed exoplanet eccentricity distribution, can reproduce the observed distribution of dynamical configurations. We calculated how each of our scattered systems would appear over an appropriate range of viewing geometries; as Hill stability is weakly dependent on the masse...

Influence of stellar multiplicity on planet formation. I. Evidence of suppressed planet formation due to stellar companions within 20 au and validation of four planets from the Kepler multiple planet candidates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Ji; Fischer, Debra A.; Xie, Ji-Wei; Barclay, Thomas

2014-01-01

The planet occurrence rate for multiple stars is important in two aspects. First, almost half of stellar systems in the solar neighborhood are multiple systems. Second, the comparison of the planet occurrence rate for multiple stars to that for single stars sheds light on the influence of stellar multiplicity on planet formation and evolution. We developed a method of distinguishing planet occurrence rates for single and multiple stars. From a sample of 138 bright (K P < 13.5) Kepler multi-planet candidate systems, we compared the stellar multiplicity rate of these planet host stars to that of field stars. Using dynamical stability analyses and archival Doppler measurements, we find that the stellar multiplicity rate of planet host stars is significantly lower than field stars for semimajor axes less than 20 AU, suggesting that planet formation and evolution are suppressed by the presence of a close-in companion star at these separations. The influence of stellar multiplicity at larger separations is uncertain because of search incompleteness due to a limited Doppler observation time baseline and a lack of high-resolution imaging observation. We calculated the planet confidence for the sample of multi-planet candidates and find that the planet confidences for KOI 82.01, KOI 115.01, KOI 282.01, and KOI 1781.02 are higher than 99.7% and thus validate the planetary nature of these four planet candidates. This sample of bright Kepler multi-planet candidates with refined stellar and orbital parameters, planet confidence estimation, and nearby stellar companion identification offers a well-characterized sample for future theoretical and observational study.

Prognosis for a sick planet.

Science.gov (United States)

Maslin, Mark

2008-12-01

Global warming is the most important science issue of the 21st century, challenging the very structure of our global society. The study of past climate has shown that the current global climate system is extremely sensitive to human-induced climate change. The burning of fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution has already caused changes with clear evidence for a 0.75 degrees C rise in global temperatures and 22 cm rise in sea level during the 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change synthesis report (2007) predicts that global temperatures by 2100 could rise by between 1.1 degrees C and 6.4 degrees C. Sea level could rise by between 28 cm and 79 cm, more if the melting of the polar ice caps accelerates. In addition, weather patterns will become less predictable and the occurrence of extreme climate events, such as storms, floods, heat waves and droughts, will increase. The potential effects of global warming on human society are devastating. We do, however, already have many of the technological solutions to cure our sick planet.

Transit Duration Variations due to Secular Interactions in Systems with Tightly-packed Inner Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Boley, Aaron; Van Laerhoven, Christa; Granados Contreras, A. Paula

2018-04-01

Secular interactions among planets in multi-planet systems will lead to variations in orbital inclinations and to the precession of orbital nodes. Taking known system architectures at face value, we calculate orbital precession rates for planets in tightly-packed systems using classical second-order secular theory, in which the orientation of the orbits can be described as a vector sum of eigenmodes and the eigenstructure is determined only by the masses and semi-major axes of the planets. Using this framework, we identify systems that have fast precession frequencies, and use those systems to explore the range of transit duration variation that could occur using amplitudes that are consistent with tightly-packed planetary systems. We then further assess how transit duration variations could be used in practice.

Kepler Planets Tend to Have Siblings of the Same Size

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-11-01

After 8.5 years of observations with the Kepler space observatory, weve discovered a large number of close-in, tightly-spaced, multiple-planet systems orbiting distant stars. In the process, weve learned a lot about the properties about these systems and discovered some unexpected behavior. A new study explores one of the properties that has surprised us: planets of the same size tend to live together.Orbital architectures for 25 of the authors multiplanet systems. The dots are sized according to the planets relative radii and colored according to mass. Planets of similar sizes and masses tend to live together in the same system. [Millholland et al. 2017]Ordering of SystemsFrom Keplers observations of extrasolar multiplanet systems, we have seen that the sizes of planets in a given system arent completely random. Systems that contain a large planet, for example, are more likely to contain additional large planets rather than additional planets of random size. So though there is a large spread in the radii weve observed for transiting exoplanets, the spread within any given multiplanet system tends to be much smaller.This odd behavior has led us to ask whether this clustering occurs not just for radius, but also for mass. Since the multiplanet systems discovered by Kepler most often contain super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, which have an extremely large spread in densities, the fact that two such planets have similar radii does not guarantee that they have similar masses.If planets dont cluster in mass within a system, this would raise the question of why planets coordinate only their radii within a given system. If they do cluster in mass, it implies that planets within the same system tend to have similar densities, potentially allowing us to predict the sizes and masses of planets we might find in a given system.Insight into MassesLed by NSF graduate research fellow Sarah Millholland, a team of scientists at Yale University used recently determined masses for

Gemini Planet Imager: Preliminary Design Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macintosh, B

2007-05-10

completely limited by quasi-static wave front errors, so that contrast does not improve with integration times longer than about 1 minute. Using the rotation of the Earth to distinguish companions from artifacts or multiwavelength imaging improves this somewhat, but GPI will still need to surpass the performance of existing systems by one to two orders of magnitude--an improvement comparable to the transition from photographic plates to CCDs. This may sound daunting, but other areas of optical science have achieved similar breakthroughs, for example, the transition to nanometer-quality optics for extreme ultraviolet lithography, the development of MEMS wave front control devices, and the ultra-high contrast demonstrated by JPL's High Contrast Imaging Test-bed. In astronomy, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, long baseline radio interferometry, and multi-object spectrographs have led to improvements of similar or greater order of magnitude. GPI will be the first project to apply these revolutionary techniques to ground-based astronomy, with a systems engineering approach that studies the impact of every design decision on the key metric--final detectable planet contrast.

TRANSITING PLANETS WITH LSST. II. PERIOD DETECTION OF PLANETS ORBITING 1 M{sub ⊙} HOSTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacklin, Savannah [Department of Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085 (United States); Lund, Michael B.; Stassun, Keivan G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Pepper, Joshua [Department of Physics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015 (United States)

2015-07-15

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will photometrically monitor ∼10{sup 9} stars for 10 years. The resulting light curves can be used to detect transiting exoplanets. In particular, as demonstrated by Lund et al., LSST will probe stellar populations currently undersampled in most exoplanet transit surveys, including out to extragalactic distances. In this paper we test the efficiency of the box-fitting least-squares (BLS) algorithm for accurately recovering the periods of transiting exoplanets using simulated LSST data. We model planets with a range of radii orbiting a solar-mass star at a distance of 7 kpc, with orbital periods ranging from 0.5 to 20 days. We find that standard-cadence LSST observations will be able to reliably recover the periods of Hot Jupiters with periods shorter than ∼3 days; however, it will remain a challenge to confidently distinguish these transiting planets from false positives. At the same time, we find that the LSST deep-drilling cadence is extremely powerful: the BLS algorithm successfully recovers at least 30% of sub-Saturn-size exoplanets with orbital periods as long as 20 days, and a simple BLS power criterion robustly distinguishes ∼98% of these from photometric (i.e., statistical) false positives.

Occurrence and core-envelope structure of 1-4× Earth-size planets around Sun-like stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcy, Geoffrey W; Weiss, Lauren M; Petigura, Erik A; Isaacson, Howard; Howard, Andrew W; Buchhave, Lars A

2014-09-02

Small planets, 1-4× the size of Earth, are extremely common around Sun-like stars, and surprisingly so, as they are missing in our solar system. Recent detections have yielded enough information about this class of exoplanets to begin characterizing their occurrence rates, orbits, masses, densities, and internal structures. The Kepler mission finds the smallest planets to be most common, as 26% of Sun-like stars have small, 1-2 R⊕ planets with orbital periods under 100 d, and 11% have 1-2 R⊕ planets that receive 1-4× the incident stellar flux that warms our Earth. These Earth-size planets are sprinkled uniformly with orbital distance (logarithmically) out to 0.4 the Earth-Sun distance, and probably beyond. Mass measurements for 33 transiting planets of 1-4 R⊕ show that the smallest of them, R planets. Their densities increase with increasing radius, likely caused by gravitational compression. Including solar system planets yields a relation: ρ = 2:32 + 3:19 R=R ⊕ [g cm(-3)]. Larger planets, in the radius range 1.5-4.0 R⊕, have densities that decline with increasing radius, revealing increasing amounts of low-density material (H and He or ices) in an envelope surrounding a rocky core, befitting the appellation ''mini-Neptunes.'' The gas giant planets occur preferentially around stars that are rich in heavy elements, while rocky planets occur around stars having a range of heavy element abundances. Defining habitable zones remains difficult, without benefit of either detections of life elsewhere or an understanding of life's biochemical origins.

The hottest planet.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, Joseph; Luszcz, Statia; Seager, Sara; Deming, Drake; Richardson, L Jeremy

2007-06-07

Of the over 200 known extrasolar planets, just 14 pass in front of and behind their parent stars as seen from Earth. This fortuitous geometry allows direct determination of many planetary properties. Previous reports of planetary thermal emission give fluxes that are roughly consistent with predictions based on thermal equilibrium with the planets' received radiation, assuming a Bond albedo of approximately 0.3. Here we report direct detection of thermal emission from the smallest known transiting planet, HD 149026b, that indicates a brightness temperature (an expression of flux) of 2,300 +/- 200 K at 8 microm. The planet's predicted temperature for uniform, spherical, blackbody emission and zero albedo (unprecedented for planets) is 1,741 K. As models with non-zero albedo are cooler, this essentially eliminates uniform blackbody models, and may also require an albedo lower than any measured for a planet, very strong 8 microm emission, strong temporal variability, or a heat source other than stellar radiation. On the other hand, an instantaneous re-emission blackbody model, in which each patch of surface area instantly re-emits all received light, matches the data. This planet is known to be enriched in heavy elements, which may give rise to novel atmospheric properties yet to be investigated.

Homogeneous Studies of Transiting Extrasolar Planets: Current Status and Future Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, John

2011-09-01

We now know of over 500 planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. The jewels in the crown are the transiting planets, for these are the only ones whose masses and radii are measurable. They are fundamental for our understanding of the formation, evolution, structure and atmospheric properties of extrasolar planets. However, their characterization is not straightforward, requiring extremely high-precision photometry and spectroscopy as well as input from theoretical stellar models. I summarize the motivation and current status of a project to measure the physical properties of all known transiting planetary systems using homogeneous techniques (Southworth 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 in preparation). Careful attention is paid to the treatment of limb darkening, contaminating light, correlated noise, numerical integration, orbital eccentricity and orientation, systematic errors from theoretical stellar models, and empirical constraints. Complete error budgets are calculated for each system and can be used to determine which type of observation would be most useful for improving the parameter measurements. Known correlations between the orbital periods, masses, surface gravities, and equilibrium temperatures of transiting planets can be explored more safely due to the homogeneity of the properties. I give a sneak preview of Homogeneous Studies Paper 4, which includes the properties of thirty transiting planetary systems observed by the CoRoT, Kepler and Deep Impact space missions. Future opportunities are discussed, plus remaining problems with our understanding of transiting planets. I acknowledge funding from the UK STFC in the form of an Advanced Fellowship.

Magic Planet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Aase Roland

2009-01-01

Med den digitale globe som omdrejningspunkt bestemmer publikum, hvilken planet, der er i fokus. Vores solsystem udforskes interaktivt. Udgivelsesdato: november......Med den digitale globe som omdrejningspunkt bestemmer publikum, hvilken planet, der er i fokus. Vores solsystem udforskes interaktivt. Udgivelsesdato: november...

Dance of the Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Riddle, Bob

2005-01-01

As students continue their monthly plotting of the planets along the ecliptic they should start to notice differences between inner and outer planet orbital motions, and their relative position or separation from the Sun. Both inner and outer planets have direct eastward motion, as well as retrograde motion. Inner planets Mercury and Venus,…

Exploring Disks Around Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-07-01

Giant planets are thought to form in circumstellar disks surrounding young stars, but material may also accrete into a smaller disk around the planet. Weve never detected one of these circumplanetary disks before but thanks to new simulations, we now have a better idea of what to look for.Image from previous work simulating a Jupiter-mass planet forming inside a circumstellar disk. The planet has its own circumplanetary disk of accreted material. [Frdric Masset]Elusive DisksIn the formation of giant planets, we think the final phase consists of accretion onto the planet from a disk that surrounds it. This circumplanetary disk is important to understand, since it both regulates the late gas accretion and forms the birthplace of future satellites of the planet.Weve yet to detect a circumplanetary disk thus far, because the resolution needed to spot one has been out of reach. Now, however, were entering an era where the disk and its kinematics may be observable with high-powered telescopes (like the Atacama Large Millimeter Array).To prepare for such observations, we need models that predict the basic characteristics of these disks like the mass, temperature, and kinematic properties. Now a researcher at the ETH Zrich Institute for Astronomy in Switzerland, Judit Szulgyi, has worked toward this goal.Simulating CoolingSzulgyi performs a series of 3D global radiative hydrodynamic simulations of 1, 3, 5, and 10 Jupiter-mass (MJ) giant planets and their surrounding circumplanetary disks, embedded within the larger circumstellar disk around the central star.Density (left column), temperature (center), and normalized angular momentum (right) for a 1 MJ planet over temperatures cooling from 10,000 K (top) to 1,000 K (bottom). At high temperatures, a spherical circumplanetary envelope surrounds the planet, but as the planet cools, the envelope transitions around 64,000 K to a flattened disk. [Szulgyi 2017]This work explores the effects of different planet temperatures and

Planets a very short introduction

CERN Document Server

Rothery, David A

2010-01-01

Planets: A Very Short Introduction demonstrates the excitement, uncertainties, and challenges faced by planetary scientists, and provides an overview of our Solar System and its origins, nature, and evolution. Terrestrial planets, giant planets, dwarf planets and various other objects such as satellites (moons), asteroids, trans-Neptunian objects, and exoplanets are discussed. Our knowledge about planets has advanced over the centuries, and has expanded at a rapidly growing rate in recent years. Controversial issues are outlined, such as What qualifies as a planet? What conditions are required for a planetary body to be potentially inhabited by life? Why does Pluto no longer have planet status? And Is there life on other planets?

THE OCCURRENCE RATE OF EARTH ANALOG PLANETS ORBITING SUN-LIKE STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Catanzarite, Joseph; Shao, Michael

2011-01-01

Kepler is a space telescope that searches Sun-like stars for planets. Its major goal is to determine η Earth , the fraction of Sun-like stars that have planets like Earth. When a planet 'transits' or moves in front of a star, Kepler can measure the concomitant dimming of the starlight. From analysis of the first four months of those measurements for over 150,000 stars, Kepler's Science Team has determined sizes, surface temperatures, orbit sizes, and periods for over a thousand new planet candidates. In this paper, we characterize the period probability distribution function of the super-Earth and Neptune planet candidates with periods up to 132 days, and find three distinct period regimes. For candidates with periods below 3 days, the density increases sharply with increasing period; for periods between 3 and 30 days, the density rises more gradually with increasing period, and for periods longer than 30 days, the density drops gradually with increasing period. We estimate that 1%-3% of stars like the Sun are expected to have Earth analog planets, based on the Kepler data release of 2011 February. This estimate of η Earth is based on extrapolation from a fiducial subsample of the Kepler planet candidates that we chose to be nominally 'complete' (i.e., no missed detections) to the realm of the Earth-like planets, by means of simple power-law models. The accuracy of the extrapolation will improve as more data from the Kepler mission are folded in. Accurate knowledge of η Earth is essential for the planning of future missions that will image and take spectra of Earth-like planets. Our result that Earths are relatively scarce means that a substantial effort will be needed to identify suitable target stars prior to these future missions.

The Trojan minor planets

Science.gov (United States)

Spratt, Christopher E.

1988-08-01

There are (March, 1988) 3774 minor planets which have received a permanent number. Of these, there are some whose mean distance to the sun is very nearly equal to that of Jupiter, and whose heliocentric longitudes from that planet are about 60°, so that the three bodies concerned (sun, Jupiter, minor planet) make an approximate equilateral triangle. These minor planets, which occur in two distinct groups, one preceding Jupiter and one following, have received the names of the heroes of the Trojan war. This paper concerns the 49 numbered minor planets of this group.

Inside-out Planet Formation. IV. Pebble Evolution and Planet Formation Timescales

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xiao; Tan, Jonathan C.; Zhu, Zhaohuan; Chatterjee, Sourav; Birnstiel, Tilman; Youdin, Andrew N.; Mohanty, Subhanjoy

2018-04-01

Systems with tightly packed inner planets (STIPs) are very common. Chatterjee & Tan proposed Inside-out Planet Formation (IOPF), an in situ formation theory, to explain these planets. IOPF involves sequential planet formation from pebble-rich rings that are fed from the outer disk and trapped at the pressure maximum associated with the dead zone inner boundary (DZIB). Planet masses are set by their ability to open a gap and cause the DZIB to retreat outwards. We present models for the disk density and temperature structures that are relevant to the conditions of IOPF. For a wide range of DZIB conditions, we evaluate the gap-opening masses of planets in these disks that are expected to lead to the truncation of pebble accretion onto the forming planet. We then consider the evolution of dust and pebbles in the disk, estimating that pebbles typically grow to sizes of a few centimeters during their radial drift from several tens of astronomical units to the inner, ≲1 au scale disk. A large fraction of the accretion flux of solids is expected to be in such pebbles. This allows us to estimate the timescales for individual planet formation and the entire planetary system formation in the IOPF scenario. We find that to produce realistic STIPs within reasonable timescales similar to disk lifetimes requires disk accretion rates of ∼10‑9 M ⊙ yr‑1 and relatively low viscosity conditions in the DZIB region, i.e., a Shakura–Sunyaev parameter of α ∼ 10‑4.

ROTATIONAL SYNCHRONIZATION MAY ENHANCE HABITABILITY FOR CIRCUMBINARY PLANETS: KEPLER BINARY CASE STUDIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, Paul A.; Zuluaga, Jorge I.; Cuartas-Restrepo, Pablo A.; Clark, Joni M.

2013-01-01

We report a mechanism capable of reducing (or increasing) stellar activity in binary stars, thereby potentially enhancing (or destroying) circumbinary habitability. In single stars, stellar aggression toward planetary atmospheres causes mass-loss, which is especially detrimental for late-type stars, because habitable zones are very close and activity is long lasting. In binaries, tidal rotational breaking reduces magnetic activity, thus reducing harmful levels of X-ray and ultraviolet (XUV) radiation and stellar mass-loss that are able to erode planetary atmospheres. We study this mechanism for all confirmed circumbinary (p-type) planets. We find that main sequence twins provide minimal flux variation and in some cases improved environments if the stars rotationally synchronize within the first Gyr. Solar-like twins, like Kepler 34 and Kepler 35, provide low habitable zone XUV fluxes and stellar wind pressures. These wide, moist, habitable zones may potentially support multiple habitable planets. Solar-type stars with lower mass companions, like Kepler 47, allow for protected planets over a wide range of secondary masses and binary periods. Kepler 38 and related binaries are marginal cases. Kepler 64 and analogs have dramatically reduced stellar aggression due to synchronization of the primary, but are limited by the short lifetime. Kepler 16 appears to be inhospitable to planets due to extreme XUV flux. These results have important implications for estimates of the number of stellar systems containing habitable planets in the Galaxy and allow for the selection of binaries suitable for follow-up searches for habitable planets

ROTATIONAL SYNCHRONIZATION MAY ENHANCE HABITABILITY FOR CIRCUMBINARY PLANETS: KEPLER BINARY CASE STUDIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mason, Paul A. [Department of Physics, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968 (United States); Zuluaga, Jorge I.; Cuartas-Restrepo, Pablo A. [FACom-Instituto de Fisica-FCEN, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellin (Colombia); Clark, Joni M. [Department of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, New Mexico State University-DACC, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States)

2013-09-10

We report a mechanism capable of reducing (or increasing) stellar activity in binary stars, thereby potentially enhancing (or destroying) circumbinary habitability. In single stars, stellar aggression toward planetary atmospheres causes mass-loss, which is especially detrimental for late-type stars, because habitable zones are very close and activity is long lasting. In binaries, tidal rotational breaking reduces magnetic activity, thus reducing harmful levels of X-ray and ultraviolet (XUV) radiation and stellar mass-loss that are able to erode planetary atmospheres. We study this mechanism for all confirmed circumbinary (p-type) planets. We find that main sequence twins provide minimal flux variation and in some cases improved environments if the stars rotationally synchronize within the first Gyr. Solar-like twins, like Kepler 34 and Kepler 35, provide low habitable zone XUV fluxes and stellar wind pressures. These wide, moist, habitable zones may potentially support multiple habitable planets. Solar-type stars with lower mass companions, like Kepler 47, allow for protected planets over a wide range of secondary masses and binary periods. Kepler 38 and related binaries are marginal cases. Kepler 64 and analogs have dramatically reduced stellar aggression due to synchronization of the primary, but are limited by the short lifetime. Kepler 16 appears to be inhospitable to planets due to extreme XUV flux. These results have important implications for estimates of the number of stellar systems containing habitable planets in the Galaxy and allow for the selection of binaries suitable for follow-up searches for habitable planets.

GEMINI PLANET IMAGER SPECTROSCOPY OF THE HR 8799 PLANETS c AND d

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ingraham, Patrick; Macintosh, Bruce; Marley, Mark S.; Saumon, Didier; Marois, Christian; Dunn, Jennifer; Erikson, Darren; Barman, Travis; Bauman, Brian; Burrows, Adam; Chilcote, Jeffrey K.; Fitzgerald, Michael P.; De Rosa, Robert J.; Dillon, Daren; Gavel, Donald; Doyon, René; Goodsell, Stephen J.; Hartung, Markus; Hibon, Pascale; Graham, James R.

2014-01-01

During the first-light run of the Gemini Planet Imager we obtained K-band spectra of exoplanets HR 8799 c and d. Analysis of the spectra indicates that planet d may be warmer than planet c. Comparisons to recent patchy cloud models and previously obtained observations over multiple wavelengths confirm that thick clouds combined with horizontal variation in the cloud cover generally reproduce the planets' spectral energy distributions. When combined with the 3 to 4 μm photometric data points, the observations provide strong constraints on the atmospheric methane content for both planets. The data also provide further evidence that future modeling efforts must include cloud opacity, possibly including cloud holes, disequilibrium chemistry, and super-solar metallicity

Inside-out planet formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatterjee, Sourav; Tan, Jonathan C.

2014-01-01

The compact multi-transiting planet systems discovered by Kepler challenge planet formation theories. Formation in situ from disks with radial mass surface density, Σ, profiles similar to the minimum mass solar nebula but boosted in normalization by factors ≳ 10 has been suggested. We propose that a more natural way to create these planets in the inner disk is formation sequentially from the inside-out via creation of successive gravitationally unstable rings fed from a continuous stream of small (∼cm-m size) 'pebbles', drifting inward via gas drag. Pebbles collect at the pressure maximum associated with the transition from a magnetorotational instability (MRI)-inactive ('dead zone') region to an inner MRI-active zone. A pebble ring builds up until it either becomes gravitationally unstable to form an ∼1 M ⊕ planet directly or induces gradual planet formation via core accretion. The planet may undergo Type I migration into the active region, allowing a new pebble ring and planet to form behind it. Alternatively, if migration is inefficient, the planet may continue to accrete from the disk until it becomes massive enough to isolate itself from the accretion flow. A variety of densities may result depending on the relative importance of residual gas accretion as the planet approaches its isolation mass. The process can repeat with a new pebble ring gathering at the new pressure maximum associated with the retreating dead-zone boundary. Our simple analytical model for this scenario of inside-out planet formation yields planetary masses, relative mass scalings with orbital radius, and minimum orbital separations consistent with those seen by Kepler. It provides an explanation of how massive planets can form with tightly packed and well-aligned system architectures, starting from typical protoplanetary disk properties.

Resistance of Microorganisms to Extreme Environmental Conditions and Its Contribution to Astrobiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pabulo Henrique Rampelotto

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In the last decades, substantial changes have occurred regarding what scientists consider the limits of habitable environmental conditions. For every extreme environmental condition investigated, a variety of microorganisms have shown that not only can they tolerate these conditions, but that they also often require these extreme conditions for survival. Microbes can return to life even after hundreds of millions of years. Furthermore, a variety of studies demonstrate that microorganisms can survive under extreme conditions, such as ultracentrifugation, hypervelocity, shock pressure, high temperature variations, vacuums, and different ultraviolet and ionizing radiation intensities, which simulate the conditions that microbes could experience during the ejection from one planet, the journey through space, as well as the impact in another planet. With these discoveries, our knowledge about the biosphere has grown and the putative boundaries of life have expanded. The present work examines the recent discoveries and the principal advances concerning the resistance of microorganisms to extreme environmental conditions, and analyzes its contributions to the development of the main themes of astrobiology: the origins of life, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the dispersion of life in the Universe.

Planet earth a beginner's guide

CERN Document Server

Gribbin, John

2012-01-01

In this incredible expedition into the origins, workings, and evolution of our home planet, John Gribbin, bestselling author of In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, The Scientists, and In Search of the Multiverse, does what he does best: taking four and a half billion years of mind-boggling science and digging out the best bits. From the physics of Newton and the geology of Wegener, to the environmentalism of Lovelock, this is a must read for Earth's scientists and residents alike. Trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University, John Gribbin is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex, England.

PLANET OCCURRENCE WITHIN 0.25 AU OF SOLAR-TYPE STARS FROM KEPLER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howard, Andrew W.; Marcy, Geoffrey W. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Bryson, Stephen T.; Rowe, Jason F.; Borucki, William J.; Koch, David G.; Lissauer, Jack J. [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Jenkins, Jon M.; Van Cleve, Jeffrey; Caldwell, Douglas A. [SETI Institute/NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Batalha, Natalie M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192 (United States); Dunham, Edward W. [Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Gautier, Thomas N. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Cochran, William D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Latham, David W.; Torres, Guillermo [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Brown, Timothy M. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Gilliland, Ronald L. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Buchhave, Lars A. [Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen University (Denmark); Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jorgen, E-mail: howard@astro.berkeley.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); and others

2012-08-01

We report the distribution of planets as a function of planet radius, orbital period, and stellar effective temperature for orbital periods less than 50 days around solar-type (GK) stars. These results are based on the 1235 planets (formally 'planet candidates') from the Kepler mission that include a nearly complete set of detected planets as small as 2 R{sub Circled-Plus }. For each of the 156,000 target stars, we assess the detectability of planets as a function of planet radius, R{sub p}, and orbital period, P, using a measure of the detection efficiency for each star. We also correct for the geometric probability of transit, R{sub *}/a. We consider first Kepler target stars within the 'solar subset' having T{sub eff} = 4100-6100 K, log g 4.0-4.9, and Kepler magnitude Kp < 15 mag, i.e., bright, main-sequence GK stars. We include only those stars having photometric noise low enough to permit detection of planets down to 2 R{sub Circled-Plus }. We count planets in small domains of R{sub p} and P and divide by the included target stars to calculate planet occurrence in each domain. The resulting occurrence of planets varies by more than three orders of magnitude in the radius-orbital period plane and increases substantially down to the smallest radius (2 R{sub Circled-Plus }) and out to the longest orbital period (50 days, {approx}0.25 AU) in our study. For P < 50 days, the distribution of planet radii is given by a power law, df/dlog R = k{sub R}R{sup {alpha}} with k{sub R} = 2.9{sup +0.5}{sub -0.4}, {alpha} = -1.92 {+-} 0.11, and R {identical_to} R{sub p}/R{sub Circled-Plus }. This rapid increase in planet occurrence with decreasing planet size agrees with the prediction of core-accretion formation but disagrees with population synthesis models that predict a desert at super-Earth and Neptune sizes for close-in orbits. Planets with orbital periods shorter than 2 days are extremely rare; for R{sub p} > 2 R{sub Circled-Plus} we measure an

Ultimate design load analysis of planetary gearbox bearings under extreme events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gallego Calderon, Juan Felipe; Natarajan, Anand; Cutululis, Nicolaos Antonio

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of extreme events on the planet bearings of a 5 MW gearbox. The system is simulated using an aeroelastic tool, where the turbine structure is modeled, and MATLAB/Simulink, where the drivetrain (gearbox and generator) are modeled using a lumped-parameter approach....... Three extreme events are assessed: low-voltage ride through, emergency stop and normal stop. The analysis is focused on finding which event has the most negative impact on the bearing extreme radial loads. The two latter events are carried out following the guidelines of the International...

Formation of S-type planets in close binaries: scattering induced tidal capture of circumbinary planets

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Yan-Xiang; Ji, Jianghui

2018-05-01

Although several S-type and P-type planets in binary systems were discovered in past years, S-type planets have not yet been found in close binaries with an orbital separation not more than 5 au. Recent studies suggest that S-type planets in close binaries may be detected through high-accuracy observations. However, nowadays planet formation theories imply that it is difficult for S-type planets in close binaries systems to form in situ. In this work, we extensively perform numerical simulations to explore scenarios of planet-planet scattering among circumbinary planets and subsequent tidal capture in various binary configurations, to examine whether the mechanism can play a part in producing such kind of planets. Our results show that this mechanism is robust. The maximum capture probability is ˜10%, which can be comparable to the tidal capture probability of hot Jupiters in single star systems. The capture probability is related to binary configurations, where a smaller eccentricity or a low mass ratio of the binary will lead to a larger probability of capture, and vice versa. Furthermore, we find that S-type planets with retrograde orbits can be naturally produced via capture process. These planets on retrograde orbits can help us distinguish in situ formation and post-capture origin for S-type planet in close binaries systems. The forthcoming missions (PLATO) will provide the opportunity and feasibility to detect such planets. Our work provides several suggestions for selecting target binaries in search for S-type planets in the near future.

TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION DURING THE MIGRATION AND RESONANCE CROSSINGS OF THE GIANT PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lykawka, Patryk Sofia; Ito, Takashi

2013-01-01

The newly formed giant planets may have migrated and crossed a number of mutual mean motion resonances (MMRs) when smaller objects (embryos) were accreting to form the terrestrial planets in the planetesimal disk. We investigated the effects of the planetesimal-driven migration of Jupiter and Saturn, and the influence of their mutual 1:2 MMR crossing on terrestrial planet formation for the first time, by performing N-body simulations. These simulations considered distinct timescales of MMR crossing and planet migration. In total, 68 high-resolution simulation runs using 2000 disk planetesimals were performed, which was a significant improvement on previously published results. Even when the effects of the 1:2 MMR crossing and planet migration were included in the system, Venus and Earth analogs (considering both orbits and masses) successfully formed in several runs. In addition, we found that the orbits of planetesimals beyond a ∼ 1.5-2 AU were dynamically depleted by the strengthened sweeping secular resonances associated with Jupiter's and Saturn's more eccentric orbits (relative to the present day) during planet migration. However, this depletion did not prevent the formation of massive Mars analogs (planets with more than 1.5 times Mars's mass). Although late MMR crossings (at t > 30 Myr) could remove such planets, Mars-like small mass planets survived on overly excited orbits (high e and/or i), or were completely lost in these systems. We conclude that the orbital migration and crossing of the mutual 1:2 MMR of Jupiter and Saturn are unlikely to provide suitable orbital conditions for the formation of solar system terrestrial planets. This suggests that to explain Mars's small mass and the absence of other planets between Mars and Jupiter, the outer asteroid belt must have suffered a severe depletion due to interactions with Jupiter/Saturn, or by an alternative mechanism (e.g., rogue super-Earths)

Terrorism, racism, speciesism, and sustainable use of the planet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Cairns Jr.

2002-12-01

Full Text Available The 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the US Pentagon in Washington, DC have seized our attention and undermined our sense of security. These terrorist actions showed a contempt for other persons and their beliefs and practices. They are extreme demonstrations of a feeling of superiority which ignores the inherent worth of life by killing or wounding some and depriving others of resources that improve their quality of life. In this respect, terrorism is similar to racism and speciesism in that all are expressions of feelings of superiority over other life forms and that all are incompatible with sustainable use of the planet. It is proposed that both terrorism and racism have their genesis in speciesism. Sustainability requires a mutualistic relationship between humans and the millions of other species that collectively constitute the planet's ecological life support system. It further requires enhancement and protection of natural capital, as well as the enhancement and protection of the technological and economic life support systems that depend upon natural capital. Both terrorism and racism endanger the fair and equitable allocation of resources and the quality of human life of present and future generations. This is probably both the cause and effect of resource allocations. However, to achieve sustainable use of the planet, humans must acknowledge the inherent worth of other life forms. There is no guarantee that abolishing terrorism, racism, and speciesism will enable human society to acheive sustainable use of the planet; however, it is difficult to envision achieving sustainability if they persist.

Strong water absorption in the dayside emission spectrum of the planet HD 189733b.

Science.gov (United States)

Grillmair, Carl J; Burrows, Adam; Charbonneau, David; Armus, Lee; Stauffer, John; Meadows, Victoria; van Cleve, Jeffrey; von Braun, Kaspar; Levine, Deborah

2008-12-11

Recent observations of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b did not reveal the presence of water in the emission spectrum of the planet. Yet models of such 'hot-Jupiter' planets predict an abundance of atmospheric water vapour. Validating and constraining these models is crucial to understanding the physics and chemistry of planetary atmospheres in extreme environments. Indications of the presence of water in the atmosphere of HD 189733b have recently been found in transmission spectra, where the planet's atmosphere selectively absorbs the light of the parent star, and in broadband photometry. Here we report the detection of strong water absorption in a high-signal-to-noise, mid-infrared emission spectrum of the planet itself. We find both a strong downturn in the flux ratio below 10 microm and discrete spectral features that are characteristic of strong absorption by water vapour. The differences between these and previous observations are significant and admit the possibility that predicted planetary-scale dynamical weather structures may alter the emission spectrum over time. Models that match the observed spectrum and the broadband photometry suggest that heat redistribution from the dayside to the nightside is weak. Reconciling this with the high nightside temperature will require a better understanding of atmospheric circulation or possible additional energy sources.

#AltPlanets: Exploring the Exoplanet Catalogue with Neural Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Laneuville, M.; Tasker, E. J.; Guttenberg, N.

2017-12-01

The launch of Kepler in 2009 brought the number of known exoplanets into the thousands, in a growth explosion that shows no sign of abating. While the data available for individual planets is presently typically restricted to orbital and bulk properties, the quantity of data points allows the potential for meaningful statistical analysis. It is not clear how planet mass, radius, orbital path, stellar properties and neighbouring planets influence one another, therefore it seems inevitable that patterns will be missed simply due to the difficulty of including so many dimensions. Even simple trends may be overlooked if they fall outside our expectation of planet formation; a strong risk in a field where new discoveries have destroyed theories from the first observations of hot Jupiters. A possible way forward is to take advantage of the capabilities of neural network autoencoders. The idea of such algorithms is to learn a representation (encoding) of the data in a lower dimension space, without a priori knowledge about links between the elements. This encoding space can then be used to discover the strongest correlations in the original dataset.The key point is that trends identified by a neural network are independent of any previous analysis and pre-conceived ideas about physical processes. Results can reveal new relationships between planet properties and verify existing trends. We applied this concept to study data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive and while we have begun to explore the potential use of neural networks for exoplanet data, there are many possible extensions. For example, the network can produce a large number of 'alternative planets' whose statistics should match the current distribution. This larger dataset could highlight gaps in the parameter space or indicate observations are missing particular regimes. This could guide instrument proposals towards objects liable to yield the most information.

Taxonomy of the extrasolar planet.

Science.gov (United States)

Plávalová, Eva

2012-04-01

When a star is described as a spectral class G2V, we know that the star is similar to our Sun. We know its approximate mass, temperature, age, and size. When working with an extrasolar planet database, it is very useful to have a taxonomy scale (classification) such as, for example, the Harvard classification for stars. The taxonomy has to be easily interpreted and present the most relevant information about extrasolar planets. I propose an extrasolar planet taxonomy scale with four parameters. The first parameter concerns the mass of an extrasolar planet in the form of units of the mass of other known planets, where M represents the mass of Mercury, E that of Earth, N Neptune, and J Jupiter. The second parameter is the planet's distance from its parent star (semimajor axis) described in a logarithm with base 10. The third parameter is the mean Dyson temperature of the extrasolar planet, for which I established four main temperature classes: F represents the Freezing class, W the Water class, G the Gaseous class, and R the Roasters class. I devised one additional class, however: P, the Pulsar class, which concerns extrasolar planets orbiting pulsar stars. The fourth parameter is eccentricity. If the attributes of the surface of the extrasolar planet are known, we are able to establish this additional parameter where t represents a terrestrial planet, g a gaseous planet, and i an ice planet. According to this taxonomy scale, for example, Earth is 1E0W0t, Neptune is 1N1.5F0i, and extrasolar planet 55 Cnc e is 9E-1.8R1.

The Galactic Distribution of Planets via Spitzer Microlensing Parallax

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Andrew; Yee, Jennifer; Carey, Sean; Shvartzvald, Yossi

2018-05-01

We will measure the Galactic distribution of planets by obtaining 'microlens parallaxes' of about 200 events, including 3 planetary events, from the comparison of microlens lightcurves observed from Spitzer and Earth, which are separated by >1.5 AU in projection. The proposed observations are part of a campaign that we have conducted with Spitzer since 2014. The planets expected to be identified in this campaign when combined with previous work will yield a first statistically significant measurement of the frequency of planets in the Galactic bulge versus the Galactic disk. As we have demonstrated in three previous programs, the difference in these lightcurves yields both the 'microlens parallax' (ratio of the lens-source relative parallax) to the Einstein radius, and the direction of lens-source relative motion. For planetary events, this measurement directly yields the mass and distance of the planet. This proposal is significantly more sensitive to planets than previous work because it takes advantage of the KMTNet observing strategy that covers >85 sq.deg t >0.4/hr cadence, 24/7 from 3 southern observatories and a alert system KMTNet is implementing for 2019. This same observing program also provides a unique probe of dark objects. It will yield an improved measurement of the isolated-brown-dwarf mass function. Thirteen percent of the observations will specifically target binaries, which will probe systems with dark components (brown dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes) that are difficult or impossible to investigate by other methods. The observations and methods from this work are a test bed for WFIRST microlensing.

The need of the change of the conceptualisation of hydrologic processes under extreme conditions – taking reference evapotranspiration as an example

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Liu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available What a hydrological model displays is the relationships between the output and input in daily, monthly, yearly and other temporal scales. In the case of climate change or other environment changes, the input of the hydrological model may show a gradual or abrupt change. There have been numerous documented studies to explore the response of output of the hydrological models to the change of the input with scenario simulation. Most of the studies assumed that the conceptualisation of hydrologic processes will remain, which may be true for the gradual change of the input. However, under extreme conditions the conceptualisation of hydrologic processes may be completely changed. Taking an example of the Allen's formula to calculate crop reference evapotranspiration (ET0 as a simple hydrological model, we analyze the alternation of the extreme in ET0 from 1955 to 2012 at the Chongling Experimental Station located in Hebei Province, China. The relationships between ET0 and the meteorological factors for the average values, minimum (maximum values at daily, monthly and annual scales are revealed. It is found the extreme of the output can follow the extreme of the input better when their relationship is more linear. For non-liner relationship, the extreme of the input cannot at all be reflected from the extreme of the output. Relatively, extreme event at daily scale is harder to be shown than that at monthly scale. The result implicates that a routine model may not be able to catch the response to extreme events and it is even more so as we extrapolate models to higher temperature/CO2 conditions in the future. Some possible choices for the improvements are suggested for predicting hydrological extremes.

Observed properties of extrasolar planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Andrew W

2013-05-03

Observational surveys for extrasolar planets probe the diverse outcomes of planet formation and evolution. These surveys measure the frequency of planets with different masses, sizes, orbital characteristics, and host star properties. Small planets between the sizes of Earth and Neptune substantially outnumber Jupiter-sized planets. The survey measurements support the core accretion model, in which planets form by the accumulation of solids and then gas in protoplanetary disks. The diversity of exoplanetary characteristics demonstrates that most of the gross features of the solar system are one outcome in a continuum of possibilities. The most common class of planetary system detectable today consists of one or more planets approximately one to three times Earth's size orbiting within a fraction of the Earth-Sun distance.

Histories of terrestrial planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benes, K.

1981-01-01

The uneven historical development of terrestrial planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon and Mars - is probably due to the differences in their size, weight and rotational dynamics in association with the internal planet structure, their distance from the Sun, etc. A systematic study of extraterrestrial planets showed that the time span of internal activity was not the same for all bodies. It is assumed that the initial history of all terrestrial planets was marked with catastrophic events connected with the overall dynamic development of the solar system. In view of the fact that the cores of small terrestrial bodies cooled quicker, their geological development almost stagnated after two or three thousand million years. This is what probably happened to the Mercury and the Moon as well as the Mars. Therefore, traces of previous catastrophic events were preserved on the surface of the planets. On the other hand, the Earth is the most metamorphosed terrestrial planet and compared to the other planets appears to be atypical. Its biosphere is significantly developed as well as the other shell components, its hydrosphere and atmosphere, and its crust is considerably differentiated. (J.P.)

Occurrence and core-envelope structure of 1–4× Earth-size planets around Sun-like stars

Science.gov (United States)

Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Weiss, Lauren M.; Petigura, Erik A.; Isaacson, Howard; Howard, Andrew W.; Buchhave, Lars A.

2014-01-01

Small planets, 1–4× the size of Earth, are extremely common around Sun-like stars, and surprisingly so, as they are missing in our solar system. Recent detections have yielded enough information about this class of exoplanets to begin characterizing their occurrence rates, orbits, masses, densities, and internal structures. The Kepler mission finds the smallest planets to be most common, as 26% of Sun-like stars have small, 1–2 R⊕ planets with orbital periods under 100 d, and 11% have 1–2 R⊕ planets that receive 1–4× the incident stellar flux that warms our Earth. These Earth-size planets are sprinkled uniformly with orbital distance (logarithmically) out to 0.4 the Earth–Sun distance, and probably beyond. Mass measurements for 33 transiting planets of 1–4 R⊕ show that the smallest of them, R planets. Their densities increase with increasing radius, likely caused by gravitational compression. Including solar system planets yields a relation: ρ=2.32+3.19R/R⊕ [g cm−3]. Larger planets, in the radius range 1.5–4.0 R⊕, have densities that decline with increasing radius, revealing increasing amounts of low-density material (H and He or ices) in an envelope surrounding a rocky core, befitting the appellation ‘‘mini-Neptunes.’’ The gas giant planets occur preferentially around stars that are rich in heavy elements, while rocky planets occur around stars having a range of heavy element abundances. Defining habitable zones remains difficult, without benefit of either detections of life elsewhere or an understanding of life’s biochemical origins. PMID:24912169

SECULAR BEHAVIOR OF EXOPLANETS: SELF-CONSISTENCY AND COMPARISONS WITH THE PLANET-PLANET SCATTERING HYPOTHESIS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Timpe, Miles; Barnes, Rory [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Kopparapu, Ravikumar; Raymond, Sean N. [Virtual Planetary Laboratory, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Greenberg, Richard [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Gorelick, Noel, E-mail: apskier@astro.washington.edu [Google, Inc., 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 (United States)

2013-09-15

If mutual gravitational scattering among exoplanets occurs, then it may produce unique orbital properties. For example, two-planet systems that lie near the boundary between circulation and libration of their periapses could result if planet-planet scattering ejected a former third planet quickly, leaving one planet on an eccentric orbit and the other on a circular orbit. We first improve upon previous work that examined the apsidal behavior of known multiplanet systems by doubling the sample size and including observational uncertainties. This analysis recovers previous results that demonstrated that many systems lay on the apsidal boundary between libration and circulation. We then performed over 12,000 three-dimensional N-body simulations of hypothetical three-body systems that are unstable, but stabilize to two-body systems after an ejection. Using these synthetic two-planet systems, we test the planet-planet scattering hypothesis by comparing their apsidal behavior, over a range of viewing angles, to that of the observed systems and find that they are statistically consistent regardless of the multiplicity of the observed systems. Finally, we combine our results with previous studies to show that, from the sampled cases, the most likely planetary mass function prior to planet-planet scattering follows a power law with index -1.1. We find that this pre-scattering mass function predicts a mutual inclination frequency distribution that follows an exponential function with an index between -0.06 and -0.1.

Rocky Worlds Limited to ∼1.8 Earth Radii by Atmospheric Escape during a Star’s Extreme UV Saturation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lehmer, Owen R.; Catling, David C., E-mail: info@lehmer.us [Dept. Earth and Space Sciences, Box 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

2017-08-20

Recent observations and analysis of low-mass (<10 M {sub ⊕}) exoplanets have found that rocky planets only have radii up to 1.5–2 R {sub ⊕}. Two general hypotheses exist for the cause of the dichotomy between rocky and gas-enveloped planets (or possible water worlds): either low-mass planets do not necessarily form thick atmospheres of a few wt.%, or the thick atmospheres on these planets easily escape, driven by X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) emissions from young parent stars. Here, we show that a cutoff between rocky and gas-enveloped planets due to hydrodynamic escape is most likely to occur at a mean radius of 1.76 ± 0.38 (2 σ ) R {sub ⊕} around Sun-like stars. We examine the limit in rocky planet radii predicted by hydrodynamic escape across a wide range of possible model inputs, using 10,000 parameter combinations drawn randomly from plausible parameter ranges. We find a cutoff between rocky and gas-enveloped planets that agrees with the observed cutoff. The large cross-section available for XUV absorption in the extremely distended primitive atmospheres of low-mass planets results in complete loss of atmospheres during the ∼100 Myr phase of stellar XUV saturation. In contrast, more-massive planets have less-distended atmospheres and less escape, and so retain thick atmospheres through XUV saturation—and then indefinitely as the XUV and escape fluxes drop over time. The agreement between our model and exoplanet data leads us to conclude that hydrodynamic escape plausibly explains the observed upper limit on rocky planet size and few planets (a “valley”, or “radius gap”) in the 1.5–2 R {sub ⊕} range.

The Dynamics and Implications of Gap Clearing via Planets in Planetesimal (Debris) Disks

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Sarah Jane

Exoplanets and debris disks are examples of solar systems other than our own. As the dusty reservoirs of colliding planetesimals, debris disks provide indicators of planetary system evolution on orbital distance scales beyond those probed by the most prolific exoplanet detection methods, and on timescales 10 r to 10 Gyr. The Solar System possesses both planets and small bodies, and through studying the gravitational interactions between both, we gain insight into the Solar System's past. As we enter the era of resolved observations of debris disks residing around other stars, I add to our theoretical understanding of the dynamical interactions between debris, planets, and combinations thereof. I quantify how single planets clear material in their vicinity and how long this process takes for the entire planetary mass regime. I use these relationships to assess the lowest mass planet that could clear a gap in observed debris disks over the system's lifetime. In the distant outer reaches of gaps in young debris systems, this minimum planet mass can exceed Neptune's. To complement the discoveries of wide-orbit, massive, exoplanets by direct imaging surveys, I assess the dynamical stability of high mass multi-planet systems to estimate how many high mass planets could be packed into young, gapped debris disks. I compare these expectations to the planet detection rates of direct imaging surveys and find that high mass planets are not the primary culprits for forming gaps in young debris disk systems. As an alternative model for forming gaps in planetesimal disks with planets, I assess the efficacy of creating gaps with divergently migrating pairs of planets. I find that migrating planets could produce observed gaps and elude detection. Moreover, the inferred planet masses when neglecting migration for such gaps could be expected to be observable by direct imaging surveys for young, nearby systems. Wide gaps in young systems would likely still require more than two

Planets in Binary Star Systems

CERN Document Server

Haghighipour, Nader

2010-01-01

The discovery of extrasolar planets over the past decade has had major impacts on our understanding of the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. There are features and characteristics unseen in our solar system and unexplainable by the current theories of planet formation and dynamics. Among these new surprises is the discovery of planets in binary and multiple-star systems. The discovery of such "binary-planetary" systems has confronted astrodynamicists with many new challenges, and has led them to re-examine the theories of planet formation and dynamics. Among these challenges are: How are planets formed in binary star systems? What would be the notion of habitability in such systems? Under what conditions can binary star systems have habitable planets? How will volatiles necessary for life appear on such planets? This volume seeks to gather the current research in the area of planets in binary and multistar systems and to familiarize readers with its associated theoretical and observation...

Habitable zone limits for dry planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Abe, Yutaka; Abe-Ouchi, Ayako; Sleep, Norman H; Zahnle, Kevin J

2011-06-01

Most discussion of habitable planets has focused on Earth-like planets with globally abundant liquid water. For an "aqua planet" like Earth, the surface freezes if far from its sun, and the water vapor greenhouse effect runs away if too close. Here we show that "land planets" (desert worlds with limited surface water) have wider habitable zones than aqua planets. For planets at the inner edge of the habitable zone, a land planet has two advantages over an aqua planet: (i) the tropics can emit longwave radiation at rates above the traditional runaway limit because the air is unsaturated and (ii) the dry air creates a dry stratosphere that limits hydrogen escape. At the outer limits of the habitable zone, the land planet better resists global freezing because there is less water for clouds, snow, and ice. Here we describe a series of numerical experiments using a simple three-dimensional global climate model for Earth-sized planets. Other things (CO(2), rotation rate, surface pressure) unchanged, we found that liquid water remains stable at the poles of a low-obliquity land planet until net insolation exceeds 415 W/m(2) (170% that of modern Earth), compared to 330 W/m(2) (135%) for the aqua planet. At the outer limits, we found that a low-obliquity land planet freezes at 77%, while the aqua planet freezes at 90%. High-obliquity land and aqua planets freeze at 58% and 72%, respectively, with the poles offering the last refuge. We show that it is possible that, as the Sun brightens, an aqua planet like Earth can lose most of its hydrogen and become a land planet without first passing through a sterilizing runaway greenhouse. It is possible that Venus was a habitable land planet as recently as 1 billion years ago.

DUST FILTRATION BY PLANET-INDUCED GAP EDGES: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSITIONAL DISKS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu Zhaohuan; Dong Ruobing [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, 4 Ivy Lane, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Nelson, Richard P. [Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom); Espaillat, Catherine [Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Hartmann, Lee, E-mail: zhzhu@astro.princeton.edu, E-mail: rdong@astro.princeton.edu, E-mail: lhartm@umich.edu, E-mail: r.p.nelson@qmul.ac.uk, E-mail: cespaillat@cfa.harvard.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 500 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2012-08-10

By carrying out two-dimensional two-fluid global simulations, we have studied the response of dust to gap formation by a single planet in the gaseous component of a protoplanetary disk-the so-called dust filtration mechanism. We have found that a gap opened by a giant planet at 20 AU in an {alpha} = 0.01, M-dot =10{sup -8} M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1} disk can effectively stop dust particles larger than 0.1 mm drifting inward, leaving a submillimeter (submm) dust cavity/hole. However, smaller particles are difficult to filter by a gap induced by a several M{sub J} planet due to (1) dust diffusion and (2) a high gas accretion velocity at the gap edge. Based on these simulations, an analytic model is derived to understand what size particles can be filtered by the planet-induced gap edge. We show that a dimensionless parameter T{sub s} /{alpha}, which is the ratio between the dimensionless dust stopping time and the disk viscosity parameter, is important for the dust filtration process. Finally, with our updated understanding of dust filtration, we have computed Monte Carlo radiative transfer models with variable dust size distributions to generate the spectral energy distributions of disks with gaps. By comparing with transitional disk observations (e.g., GM Aur), we have found that dust filtration alone has difficulties depleting small particles sufficiently to explain the near-IR deficit of moderate M-dot transitional disks, except under some extreme circumstances. The scenario of gap opening by multiple planets studied previously suffers the same difficulty. One possible solution is to invoke both dust filtration and dust growth in the inner disk. In this scenario, a planet-induced gap filters large dust particles in the disk, and the remaining small dust particles passing to the inner disk can grow efficiently without replenishment from fragmentation of large grains. Predictions for ALMA have also been made based on all these scenarios. We conclude that dust filtration

DUST FILTRATION BY PLANET-INDUCED GAP EDGES: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSITIONAL DISKS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Zhaohuan; Dong Ruobing; Nelson, Richard P.; Espaillat, Catherine; Hartmann, Lee

2012-01-01

By carrying out two-dimensional two-fluid global simulations, we have studied the response of dust to gap formation by a single planet in the gaseous component of a protoplanetary disk—the so-called dust filtration mechanism. We have found that a gap opened by a giant planet at 20 AU in an α = 0.01, M-dot =10 -8 M ☉ yr -1 disk can effectively stop dust particles larger than 0.1 mm drifting inward, leaving a submillimeter (submm) dust cavity/hole. However, smaller particles are difficult to filter by a gap induced by a several M J planet due to (1) dust diffusion and (2) a high gas accretion velocity at the gap edge. Based on these simulations, an analytic model is derived to understand what size particles can be filtered by the planet-induced gap edge. We show that a dimensionless parameter T s /α, which is the ratio between the dimensionless dust stopping time and the disk viscosity parameter, is important for the dust filtration process. Finally, with our updated understanding of dust filtration, we have computed Monte Carlo radiative transfer models with variable dust size distributions to generate the spectral energy distributions of disks with gaps. By comparing with transitional disk observations (e.g., GM Aur), we have found that dust filtration alone has difficulties depleting small particles sufficiently to explain the near-IR deficit of moderate M-dot transitional disks, except under some extreme circumstances. The scenario of gap opening by multiple planets studied previously suffers the same difficulty. One possible solution is to invoke both dust filtration and dust growth in the inner disk. In this scenario, a planet-induced gap filters large dust particles in the disk, and the remaining small dust particles passing to the inner disk can grow efficiently without replenishment from fragmentation of large grains. Predictions for ALMA have also been made based on all these scenarios. We conclude that dust filtration with planet(s) in the disk is a

Extrasolar planets as a probe of modified gravity

OpenAIRE

Vargas dos Santos, Marcelo; Mota, David F.

2017-01-01

We propose a new method to test modified gravity theories, taking advantage of the available data on extrasolar planets. We computed the deviations from the Kepler third law and use that to constrain gravity theories beyond General Relativity. We investigate gravity models which incorporate three screening mechanisms: the Chameleon, the Symmetron and the Vainshtein. We find that data from exoplanets orbits are very sensitive to the screening mechanisms putting strong constraints in the parame...

Kepler planet-detection mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borucki...[], William J.; Koch, David; Buchhave, Lars C. Astrup

2010-01-01

The Kepler mission was designed to determine the frequency of Earth-sized planets in and near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. The habitable zone is the region where planetary temperatures are suitable for water to exist on a planet’s surface. During the first 6 weeks of observations, Kepler...... is one of the lowest-density planets (~0.17 gram per cubic centimeter) yet detected. Kepler-5b, -6b, and -8b confirm the existence of planets with densities lower than those predicted for gas giant planets....

Alpha Elements' Effects on Planet Formation and the Hunt for Extragalactic Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Penny, Matthew; Rodriguez, Joseph E.; Beatty, Thomas; Zhou, George

2018-01-01

A star's likelihood of hosting a giant planet is well known to be strongly dependent on metallicity. However, little is known about what elements cause this correlation (e.g. bulk metals, iron, or alpha elements such as silicon and oxygen). This is likely because most planet searches target stars in the Galactic disk, and due to Galactic chemical evolution, alpha element abundances are themselves correlated with metallicity within a population. We investigate the feasibility of simultaneous transiting planet search towards the alpha-poor Sagittarius dwarf galaxy and alpha-rich Galactic bulge in a single field of view of DECam, that would enable a comparative study of planet frequency over an [alpha/Fe] baseline of ~0.4 dex. We show that a modestly sized survey could detect planet candidates in both populations, but that false positive rejection in Sgr Dwarf may be prohibitively expensive. Conversely, two-filter survey observations alone would be sufficient to rule out a large fraction of bulge false positives, enabling statistical validation of candidates with a modest follow-up investment. Although over a shorter [alpha/Fe] baseline, this survey would provide a test of whether it is alpha or iron that causes the planet metallicity correlation.

Titan and habitable planets around M-dwarfs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lunine, Jonathan I

2010-01-01

The Cassini-Huygens mission discovered an active "hydrologic cycle" on Saturn's giant moon Titan, in which methane takes the place of water. Shrouded by a dense nitrogen-methane atmosphere, Titan's surface is blanketed in the equatorial regions by dunes composed of solid organics, sculpted by wind and fluvial erosion, and dotted at the poles with lakes and seas of liquid methane and ethane. The underlying crust is almost certainly water ice, possibly in the form of gas hydrates (clathrate hydrates) dominated by methane as the included species. The processes that work the surface of Titan resemble in their overall balance no other moon in the solar system; instead, they are most like that of the Earth. The presence of methane in place of water, however, means that in any particular planetary system, a body like Titan will always be outside the orbit of an Earth-type planet. Around M-dwarfs, planets with a Titan-like climate will sit at 1 AU--a far more stable environment than the approximately 0.1 AU where Earth-like planets sit. However, an observable Titan-like exoplanet might have to be much larger than Titan itself to be observable, increasing the ratio of heat contributed to the surface atmosphere system from internal (geologic) processes versus photons from the parent star.

High-reliability computing for the smarter planet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quinn, Heather M.; Graham, Paul; Manuzzato, Andrea; Dehon, Andre

2010-01-01

The geometric rate of improvement of transistor size and integrated circuit performance, known as Moore's Law, has been an engine of growth for our economy, enabling new products and services, creating new value and wealth, increasing safety, and removing menial tasks from our daily lives. Affordable, highly integrated components have enabled both life-saving technologies and rich entertainment applications. Anti-lock brakes, insulin monitors, and GPS-enabled emergency response systems save lives. Cell phones, internet appliances, virtual worlds, realistic video games, and mp3 players enrich our lives and connect us together. Over the past 40 years of silicon scaling, the increasing capabilities of inexpensive computation have transformed our society through automation and ubiquitous communications. In this paper, we will present the concept of the smarter planet, how reliability failures affect current systems, and methods that can be used to increase the reliable adoption of new automation in the future. We will illustrate these issues using a number of different electronic devices in a couple of different scenarios. Recently IBM has been presenting the idea of a 'smarter planet.' In smarter planet documents, IBM discusses increased computer automation of roadways, banking, healthcare, and infrastructure, as automation could create more efficient systems. A necessary component of the smarter planet concept is to ensure that these new systems have very high reliability. Even extremely rare reliability problems can easily escalate to problematic scenarios when implemented at very large scales. For life-critical systems, such as automobiles, infrastructure, medical implantables, and avionic systems, unmitigated failures could be dangerous. As more automation moves into these types of critical systems, reliability failures will need to be managed. As computer automation continues to increase in our society, the need for greater radiation reliability is necessary

High-reliability computing for the smarter planet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quinn, Heather M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Graham, Paul [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Manuzzato, Andrea [UNIV OF PADOVA; Dehon, Andre [UNIV OF PENN; Carter, Nicholas [INTEL CORPORATION

2010-01-01

The geometric rate of improvement of transistor size and integrated circuit performance, known as Moore's Law, has been an engine of growth for our economy, enabling new products and services, creating new value and wealth, increasing safety, and removing menial tasks from our daily lives. Affordable, highly integrated components have enabled both life-saving technologies and rich entertainment applications. Anti-lock brakes, insulin monitors, and GPS-enabled emergency response systems save lives. Cell phones, internet appliances, virtual worlds, realistic video games, and mp3 players enrich our lives and connect us together. Over the past 40 years of silicon scaling, the increasing capabilities of inexpensive computation have transformed our society through automation and ubiquitous communications. In this paper, we will present the concept of the smarter planet, how reliability failures affect current systems, and methods that can be used to increase the reliable adoption of new automation in the future. We will illustrate these issues using a number of different electronic devices in a couple of different scenarios. Recently IBM has been presenting the idea of a 'smarter planet.' In smarter planet documents, IBM discusses increased computer automation of roadways, banking, healthcare, and infrastructure, as automation could create more efficient systems. A necessary component of the smarter planet concept is to ensure that these new systems have very high reliability. Even extremely rare reliability problems can easily escalate to problematic scenarios when implemented at very large scales. For life-critical systems, such as automobiles, infrastructure, medical implantables, and avionic systems, unmitigated failures could be dangerous. As more automation moves into these types of critical systems, reliability failures will need to be managed. As computer automation continues to increase in our society, the need for greater radiation reliability is

Homes for extraterrestrial life: extrasolar planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Latham, D W

2001-12-01

Astronomers are now discovering giant planets orbiting other stars like the sun by the dozens. But none of these appears to be a small rocky planet like the earth, and thus these planets are unlikely to be capable of supporting life as we know it. The recent discovery of a system of three planets is especially significant because it supports the speculation that planetary systems, as opposed to single orbiting planets, may be common. Our ability to detect extrasolar planets will continue to improve, and space missions now in development should be able to detect earth-like planets.

Ecological and biological systems under extreme conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zlobin, V S; Nenishkiene, V B

1989-01-01

The behaviour of biological and ecological systems under extreme conditions (high and low temperatures, electromagnetic fields of different frequencies, ultraviolet. X-ray and gamma radiation) is analyzed. The ecosystems of macro- and microalgae living in salt, brackinsh and fresh waters are considered in the evolutional aspect basing on their chemical and biochemical composition taking into account the mechanism of radionuclide uptake by water plant cells, osmotic regulation, water and ice structures, combined water in a living organism. The problems of life-support in cosmic flights and of mastering the planets of the Solar system, for instance Mars and Venus, utilizing some microalgae and bacteria with high adaptive properties are discussed. Abnormal water points and their role in the metabolism of a water plant cell are estimated. The 'life niches' are determined at the temperatures exceeding 100 deg C and the possibility of existence for living organisms in high pressure and temperature is grounded. Attempts are made to change the metabolism of the plant and animal cell by subjecting it to the action of electromagnetic and thermal fields, heavy water, chemical and pharmocological substances changing the structure of bound water. 333 refs.; 79 tabs.

The fate of scattered planets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bromley, Benjamin C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 S 1400 E, Rm 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Kenyon, Scott J., E-mail: bromley@physics.utah.edu, E-mail: skenyon@cfa.harvard.edu [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2014-12-01

As gas giant planets evolve, they may scatter other planets far from their original orbits to produce hot Jupiters or rogue planets that are not gravitationally bound to any star. Here, we consider planets cast out to large orbital distances on eccentric, bound orbits through a gaseous disk. With simple numerical models, we show that super-Earths can interact with the gas through dynamical friction to settle in the remote outer regions of a planetary system. Outcomes depend on planet mass, the initial scattered orbit, and the evolution of the time-dependent disk. Efficient orbital damping by dynamical friction requires planets at least as massive as the Earth. More massive, longer-lived disks damp eccentricities more efficiently than less massive, short-lived ones. Transition disks with an expanding inner cavity can circularize orbits at larger distances than disks that experience a global (homologous) decay in surface density. Thus, orbits of remote planets may reveal the evolutionary history of their primordial gas disks. A remote planet with an orbital distance ∼100 AU from the Sun is plausible and might explain correlations in the orbital parameters of several distant trans-Neptunian objects.

Search for a planet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokovinin, A.A.

1986-01-01

The problem of search for star planets is discussed in a popular form. Two methods of search for planets are considered: astrometric and spectral. Both methods complement one another. An assumption is made that potential possessors of planets are in the first place yellow and red dwarfs with slow axial rotation. These stars are the most numerous representatives of Galaxy population

Long Term Evolution of Planetary Systems with a Terrestrial Planet and a Giant Planet

Science.gov (United States)

Georgakarakos, Nikolaos; Dobbs-Dixon, Ian; Way, Michael J.

2016-01-01

We study the long term orbital evolution of a terrestrial planet under the gravitational perturbations of a giant planet. In particular, we are interested in situations where the two planets are in the same plane and are relatively close. We examine both possible configurations: the giant planet orbit being either outside or inside the orbit of the smaller planet. The perturbing potential is expanded to high orders and an analytical solution of the terrestrial planetary orbit is derived. The analytical estimates are then compared against results from the numerical integration of the full equations of motion and we find that the analytical solution works reasonably well. An interesting finding is that the new analytical estimates improve greatly the predictions for the timescales of the orbital evolution of the terrestrial planet compared to an octupole order expansion. Finally, we briefly discuss possible applications of the analytical estimates in astrophysical problems.

Low-mass Stars with Extreme Mid-Infrared Excesses: Potential Signatures of Planetary Collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Theissen, Christopher; West, Andrew

2018-01-01

I investigate the occurrence of extreme mid-infrared (MIR) excesses, a tracer of large amounts of dust orbiting stars, in low-mass stellar systems. Extreme MIR excesses, defined as an excess IR luminosity greater than 1% of the stellar luminosity (LIR/L* ≥ 0.01), have previously only been observed around a small number of solar-mass (M⊙) stars. The origin of this excess has been hypothesized to be massive amounts of orbiting dust, created by collisions between terrestrial planets or large planetesimals. Until recently, there was a dearth of low-mass (M* ≤ 0.6M⊙) stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses, even though low-mass stars are ubiquitous (~70% of all stars), and known to host multiple terrestrial planets (≥ 3 planets per star).I combine the spectroscopic sample of low-mass stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (70,841 stars) with MIR photometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), to locate stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses. I find the occurrence frequency of low-mass field stars (stars with ages ≥ 1 Gyr) exhibiting extreme MIR excesses is much larger than that for higher-mass field stars (0.41 ± 0.03% versus 0.00067 ± 0.00033%, respectively).In addition, I build a larger sample of low-mass stars based on stellar colors and proper motions using SDSS, WISE, and the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (8,735,004 stars). I also build a galactic model to simulate stellar counts and kinematics to estimate the number of stars missing from my sample. I perform a larger, more complete study of low-mass stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses, and find a lower occurrence frequency (0.020 ± 0.001%) than found in the spectroscopic sample but that is still orders of magnitude larger than that for higher-mass stars. I find a slight trend for redder stars (lower-mass stars) to exhibit a higher occurrence frequency of extreme MIR excesses, as well as a lower frequency with increased stellar age. These samples probe important

The Fate of Unstable Circumbinary Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-03-01

What happens to Tattooine-like planets that are instead in unstable orbits around their binary star system? A new study examines whether such planets will crash into a host star, get ejected from the system, or become captured into orbit around one of their hosts.Orbit Around a DuoAt this point we have unambiguously detected multiple circumbinary planets, raising questions about these planets formation and evolution. Current models suggest that it is unlikely that circumbinary planets would be able to form in the perturbed environment close their host stars. Instead, its thought that the planets formed at a distance and then migrated inwards.One danger such planets face when migrating is encountering ranges of radii where their orbits become unstable. Two scientists at the University of Chicago, Adam Sutherland and Daniel Fabrycky, have studied what happens when circumbinary planets migrate into such a region and develop unstable orbits.Producing Rogue PlanetsTime for planets to either be ejected or collide with one of the two stars, as a function of the planets starting distance (in AU) from the binary barycenter. Colors represent different planetary eccentricities. [Sutherland Fabrycky 2016]Sutherland and Fabrycky used N-body simulations to determine the fates of planets orbiting around a star system consisting of two stars a primary like our Sun and a secondary roughly a tenth of its size that are separated by 1 AU.The authors find that the most common fate for a circumbinary planet with an unstable orbit is ejection from the system; over 80% of unstable planets were ejected. This has interesting implications: if the formation of circumbinary planets is common, this mechanism could be filling the Milky Way with a population of free-floating, rogue planets that no longer are associated with their host star.The next most common outcome for unstable planets is collision with one of their host stars (most often the secondary), resulting inaccretion of the planet

Orbital parameters of extrasolar planets derived from polarimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Fluri, D. M.; Berdyugina, S. V.

2010-03-01

Context. Polarimetry of extrasolar planets becomes a new tool for their investigation, which requires the development of diagnostic techniques and parameter case studies. Aims: Our goal is to develop a theoretical model which can be applied to interpret polarimetric observations of extrasolar planets. Here we present a theoretical parameter study that shows the influence of the various involved parameters on the polarization curves. Furthermore, we investigate the robustness of the fitting procedure. We focus on the diagnostics of orbital parameters and the estimation of the scattering radius of the planet. Methods: We employ the physics of Rayleigh scattering to obtain polarization curves of an unresolved extrasolar planet. Calculations are made for two cases: (i) assuming an angular distribution for the intensity of the scattered light as from a Lambert sphere and for polarization as from a Rayleigh-type scatterer; and (ii) assuming that both the intensity and polarization of the scattered light are distributed according to the Rayleigh law. We show that the difference between these two cases is negligible for the shapes of the polarization curves. In addition, we take the size of the host star into account, which is relevant for hot Jupiters orbiting giant stars. Results: We discuss the influence of the inclination of the planetary orbit, the position angle of the ascending node, and the eccentricity on the linearly polarized light curves both in Stokes Q/I and U/I. We also analyze errors that arise from the assumption of a point-like star in numerical modeling of polarization as compared to consistent calculations accounting for the finite size of the host star. We find that errors due to the point-like star approximation are reduced with the size of the orbit, but still amount to about 5% for known hot Jupiters. Recovering orbital parameters from simulated data is shown to be very robust even for very noisy data because the polarization curves react

Venus

CERN Document Server

Payment, Simone

2017-01-01

This straightforward but fascinating book takes a close look at Venus and shows young people just how different our neighboring planet is from our own. Known as the hottest planet, Venus is an example of the greenhouse effect to the extreme. Young readers will take a tour beneath the sulfur dioxide clouds and see the planet's surface up close with images taken by the Magellan and the Venus Express missions. This book will surely fascinate any young person interested in alien worlds.

The origin of high eccentricity planets: The dispersed planet formation regime for weakly magnetized disks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusuke Imaeda

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In the tandem planet formation regime, planets form at two distinct sites where solid particles are densely accumulated due to the on/off state of the magnetorotational instability (MRI. We found that tandem planet formation can reproduce the solid component distribution of the Solar System and tends to produce a smaller number of large planets through continuous pebble flow into the planet formation sites. In the present paper, we investigate the dependence of tandem planet formation on the vertical magnetic field of the protoplanetary disk. We calculated two cases of Bz=3.4×10−3 G and Bz=3.4×10−5 G at 100 AU as well as the canonical case of Bz=3.4×10−4 G. We found that tandem planet formation holds up well in the case of the strong magnetic field (Bz=3.4×10−3 G. On the other hand, in the case of a weak magnetic field (Bz=3.4×10−5 G at 100 AU, a new regime of planetary growth is realized: the planets grow independently at different places in the dispersed area of the MRI-suppressed region of r=8−30 AU at a lower accretion rate of M˙<10−7.4 M⊙yr−1. We call this the “dispersed planet formation” regime. This may lead to a system with a larger number of smaller planets that gain high eccentricity through mutual collisions.

The Lower Extremities Exoskeleton Actuator Dynamics Research Taking into Account Support Reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Vereikin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article shows high relevance of research, aimed at the robotic exoskeleton creation. It defines some problems related to the process of their designing; including a lack of power supply to provide enough autonomy, and difficulties of man-machine complex control. There is a review of literature on the walking robots with tree-like kinematic structure development. This work reflects the continuing investigations, currently conducted by the authors, and relies heavily on the results of previous works, devoted to this subject.The article presents the exoskeleton dynamics equation, taking into account the impact of external forces and torques, as well as external relations imposed. Using a model of lower extremities exoskeleton developed in SolidWorks software complex, baricentric parameters of the actuator links were found. The different types of movements, committed due to harmonic changes of generalized coordinates in exoskeleton degrees of mobility, equipped with electrohydraulic actuators, were analyzed. The laws of generalized coordinate changes in time, corresponding to the worst case loading, were found. All the necessary input data for the exoskeleton dynamics equation solution were determined.The numerical values of all components of the dynamics equation were obtained as result of the dynamics equation simulation. In this case, the exoskeleton actuator load capacity was assumed to be 50 kg. The article shows dependences of torque and power in the actuator degrees of mobility on the time, as well as a curve of total capacity of all drives both, ignoring and taking into consideration the support surface reactions. Obtained dependences are the initial data for the calculation of the drive system.The proposed method for determination of exoskeleton energy parameters allows developer to perform a prompt evaluation of various options for the actuator design in accordance with the selected criteria. As a main evaluation criterion, a minimum

Planet Detection: The Kepler Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Jon M.; Smith, Jeffrey C.; Tenenbaum, Peter; Twicken, Joseph D.; Van Cleve, Jeffrey

2012-03-01

, only ˜0.5% will exhibit transits. By observing such a large number of stars, Kepler is guaranteed to produce a robust null result in the unhappy event that no Earth-size planets are detected in or near the habitable zone. Such a result would indicate that worlds like ours are extremely rare in the Milky Way galaxy and perhaps the cosmos, and that we might be solitary sojourners in the quest to answer the age-old question: "Are we alone?" Kepler is an audacious mission that places rigorous demands on the science pipeline used to process the ever-accumulating, large amount of data and to identify and characterize the minute planetary signatures hiding in the data haystack. Kepler observes over 160,000 stars simultaneously over a field of view (FOV) of 115 square degrees with a focal plane consisting of 42 charge-coupled devices‡ (CCDs), each of which images 2.75 square degrees of sky onto 2200×1024 pixels. The photometer, which contains the CCD array, reads out each CCD every 6.54 s [10,11] and co-adds the images for 29.4 min, called a long cadence (LC) interval. Due to storage and bandwidth constraints, only the pixels of interest, those that contain images of target stars, are saved onboard the solid-state recorder (SSR), which can store 66+ days of data. An average of 32 pixels per star is allowed for up to 170,000 stellar target definitions. In addition, a total of 512 targets are sampled at 58.85-s short cadence (SC) intervals, permitting further characterization of the planet-star systems for the brighter stars with a Kepler magnitude,* Kp, brighter than 12 (Kp machine learning and data mining. First, Section 17.2 gives a brief overview of the SOC science processing pipeline. This includes a special subsection detailing the adaptive, wavelet-based transit detector in the transiting planet search (TPS) pipeline component that performs the automated search through each of the hundreds of thousands of light curves for transit signatures of Earth-size planets

Migration of accreting giant planets

Science.gov (United States)

Crida, A.; Bitsch, B.; Raibaldi, A.

2016-12-01

We present the results of 2D hydro simulations of giant planets in proto-planetary discs, which accrete gas at a more or less high rate. First, starting from a solid core of 20 Earth masses, we show that as soon as the runaway accretion of gas turns on, the planet is saved from type I migration : the gap opening mass is reached before the planet is lost into its host star. Furthermore, gas accretion helps opening the gap in low mass discs. Consequently, if the accretion rate is limited to the disc supply, then the planet is already inside a gap and in type II migration. We further show that the type II migration of a Jupiter mass planet actually depends on its accretion rate. Only when the accretion is high do we retrieve the classical picture where no gas crosses the gap and the planet follows the disc spreading. These results impact our understanding of planet migration and planet population synthesis models. The e-poster presenting these results in French can be found here: L'e-poster présentant ces résultats en français est disponible à cette adresse: http://sf2a.eu/semaine-sf2a/2016/posterpdfs/156_179_49.pdf.

Extreme states of matter on earth and in the cosmos

CERN Document Server

Fortov, Vladimir E

2011-01-01

With its many beautiful colour pictures, this book gives fascinating insights into the unusual forms and behaviour of matter under extremely high pressures and temperatures. These extreme states are generated, among other things, by strong shock, detonation and electric explosion waves, dense laser beams,electron and ion beams, hypersonic entry of spacecraft into dense atmospheres of planets, and in many other situations characterized by extremely high pressures and temperatures. Written by one of the world's foremost experts on the topic, this book will inform and fascinate all scientists dealing with materials properties and physics, and also serve as an excellent introduction to plasma-, shock-wave and high-energy-density physics for students and newcomers seeking an overview.  

International Deep Planet Survey, 317 stars to determine the wide-separated planet frequency

Science.gov (United States)

Galicher, R.; Marois, C.; Macintosh, B.; Zuckerman, B.; Song, I.; Barman, T.; Patience, J.

2013-09-01

Since 2000, more than 300 nearby young stars were observed for the International Deep Planet Survey with adaptive optics systems at Gemini (NIRI/NICI), Keck (Nirc2), and VLT (Naco). Massive young AF stars were included in our sample whereas they have generally been neglected in first generation surveys because the contrast and target distances are less favorable to image substellar companions. The most significant discovery of the campaign is the now well-known HR 8799 multi-planet system. This remarkable finding allows, for the first time, an estimate of the Jovians planet population at large separations (further than a few AUs) instead of deriving upper limits. During my presentation, I will present the survey showing images of multiple stars and planets. I will then propose a statistic study of the observed stars deriving constraints on the Jupiter-like planet frequency at large separations.

Climate of Earth-Like Planets With and Without Ocean Heat Transport Orbiting a Range of M and K Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Kiang, N. Y.; Jablonski, Emma R.; Way, Michael J.; Del Genio, Anthony; Roberge, Aki

2015-01-01

The mean surface temperature of a planet is now acknowledged as insufficient to surmise its full potential habitability. Advancing our understanding requires exploration with 3D general circulation models (GCMs), which can take into account how gradients and fluxes across a planet's surface influence the distribution of heat, clouds, and the potential for heterogeneous distribution of liquid water. Here we present 3D GCM simulations of the effects of alternative stellar spectra, instellation, model resolution, and ocean heat transport, on the simulated distribution of heat and moisture of an Earth-like planet (ELP).

Planet Formation in Disks with Inclined Binary Companions: Can Primordial Spin-Orbit Misalignment be Produced?

Science.gov (United States)

Zanazzi, J. J.; Lai, Dong

2018-04-01

Many hot Jupiter (HJ) systems have been observed to have their stellar spin axis misaligned with the planet's orbital angular momentum axis. The origin of this spin-orbit misalignment and the formation mechanism of HJs remain poorly understood. A number of recent works have suggested that gravitational interactions between host stars, protoplanetary disks, and inclined binary companions may tilt the stellar spin axis with respect to the disk's angular angular momentum axis, producing planetary systems with misaligned orbits. These previous works considered idealized disk evolution models and neglected the gravitational influence of newly formed planets. In this paper, we explore how disk photoevaporation and planet formation and migration affect the inclination evolution of planet-star-disk-binary systems. We take into account planet-disk interactions and the gravitational spin-orbit coupling between the host star and the planet. We find that the rapid depletion of the inner disk via photoevaporation reduces the excitation of stellar obliquities. Depending on the formation and migration history of HJs, the spin-orbit coupling between the star and the planet may reduces and even completely suppress the excitation of stellar obliquities. Our work constrains the formation/migration history of HJs. On the other hand, planetary systems with "cold" Jupiters or close-in super-earths may experience excitation of stellar obliquities in the presence of distant inclined companions.

THE NASA-UC ETA-EARTH PROGRAM. II. A PLANET ORBITING HD 156668 WITH A MINIMUM MASS OF FOUR EARTH MASSES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howard, Andrew W.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Isaacson, Howard; Johnson, John Asher; Fischer, Debra A.; Wright, Jason T.; Henry, Gregory W.; Valenti, Jeff A.; Anderson, Jay; Piskunov, Nikolai E.

2011-01-01

We report the discovery of HD 156668 b, an extrasolar planet with a minimum mass of M P sin i = 4.15 M + . This planet was discovered through Keplerian modeling of precise radial velocities from Keck-HIRES and is the second super-Earth to emerge from the NASA-UC Eta-Earth Survey. The best-fit orbit is consistent with circular and has a period of P = 4.6455 days. The Doppler semi-amplitude of this planet, K = 1.89 m s -1 , is among the lowest ever detected, on par with the detection of GJ 581 e using HARPS. A longer period (P ∼ 2.3 years), low-amplitude signal of unknown origin was also detected in the radial velocities and was filtered out of the data while fitting the short-period planet. Additional data are required to determine if the long-period signal is due to a second planet, stellar activity, or another source. Photometric observations using the Automated Photometric Telescopes at Fairborn Observatory show that HD 156668 (an old, quiet K3 dwarf) is photometrically constant over the radial velocity period to 0.1 mmag, supporting the existence of the planet. No transits were detected down to a photometric limit of ∼3 mmag, ruling out transiting planets dominated by extremely bloated atmospheres, but not precluding a transiting solid/liquid planet with a modest atmosphere.

Gravitational Microlensing of Earth-mass Planets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harpsøe, Kennet Bomann West

It was only 17 years ago that the first planet outside of our own solar system was detected in the form of 51 Pegasi b. This planet is unlike anything in our own solar system. In fact, this planet was the first representative of a class of planets later known as “hot Jupiters”– gas giants......, i.e. it is much easier to detect high mass planets in close orbits. With these two methods it is hard to detect planets in an exo-solar system with a structure similar to our own solar system; specifically, it is hard to detect Earth-like planets in Earth-like orbits. It is presently unknown how...... common such planets are in our galaxy. There are a few other known methods for detecting exoplanets which have very different bias patterns. This thesis has been divided into two parts, treating two of these other methods. Part I is dedicated to the method of gravitational microlensing, a method...

Rocky Planet Formation: Quick and Neat

Science.gov (United States)

Kenyon, Scott J.; Najita, Joan R.; Bromley, Benjamin C.

2016-11-01

We reconsider the commonly held assumption that warm debris disks are tracers of terrestrial planet formation. The high occurrence rate inferred for Earth-mass planets around mature solar-type stars based on exoplanet surveys (˜20%) stands in stark contrast to the low incidence rate (≤2%-3%) of warm dusty debris around solar-type stars during the expected epoch of terrestrial planet assembly (˜10 Myr). If Earth-mass planets at au distances are a common outcome of the planet formation process, this discrepancy suggests that rocky planet formation occurs more quickly and/or is much neater than traditionally believed, leaving behind little in the way of a dust signature. Alternatively, the incidence rate of terrestrial planets has been overestimated, or some previously unrecognized physical mechanism removes warm dust efficiently from the terrestrial planet region. A promising removal mechanism is gas drag in a residual gaseous disk with a surface density ≳10-5 of the minimum-mass solar nebula.

The effect of planets beyond the ice line on the accretion of volatiles by habitable-zone rocky planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quintana, Elisa V.; Lissauer, Jack J.

2014-01-01

Models of planet formation have shown that giant planets have a large impact on the number, masses, and orbits of terrestrial planets that form. In addition, they play an important role in delivering volatiles from material that formed exterior to the snow line (the region in the disk beyond which water ice can condense) to the inner region of the disk where terrestrial planets can maintain liquid water on their surfaces. We present simulations of the late stages of terrestrial planet formation from a disk of protoplanets around a solar-type star and we include a massive planet (from 1 M ⊕ to 1 M J ) in Jupiter's orbit at ∼5.2 AU in all but one set of simulations. Two initial disk models are examined with the same mass distribution and total initial water content, but with different distributions of water content. We compare the accretion rates and final water mass fraction of the planets that form. Remarkably, all of the planets that formed in our simulations without giant planets were water-rich, showing that giant planet companions are not required to deliver volatiles to terrestrial planets in the habitable zone. In contrast, an outer planet at least several times the mass of Earth may be needed to clear distant regions of debris truncating the epoch of frequent large impacts. Observations of exoplanets from radial velocity surveys suggest that outer Jupiter-like planets may be scarce, therefore, the results presented here suggest that there may be more habitable planets residing in our galaxy than previously thought.

The effect of planets beyond the ice line on the accretion of volatiles by habitable-zone rocky planets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quintana, Elisa V. [SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Avenue, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94043 (United States); Lissauer, Jack J., E-mail: elisa.quintana@nasa.gov [Space Science and Astrobiology Division 245-3, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)

2014-05-01

Models of planet formation have shown that giant planets have a large impact on the number, masses, and orbits of terrestrial planets that form. In addition, they play an important role in delivering volatiles from material that formed exterior to the snow line (the region in the disk beyond which water ice can condense) to the inner region of the disk where terrestrial planets can maintain liquid water on their surfaces. We present simulations of the late stages of terrestrial planet formation from a disk of protoplanets around a solar-type star and we include a massive planet (from 1 M {sub ⊕} to 1 M {sub J}) in Jupiter's orbit at ∼5.2 AU in all but one set of simulations. Two initial disk models are examined with the same mass distribution and total initial water content, but with different distributions of water content. We compare the accretion rates and final water mass fraction of the planets that form. Remarkably, all of the planets that formed in our simulations without giant planets were water-rich, showing that giant planet companions are not required to deliver volatiles to terrestrial planets in the habitable zone. In contrast, an outer planet at least several times the mass of Earth may be needed to clear distant regions of debris truncating the epoch of frequent large impacts. Observations of exoplanets from radial velocity surveys suggest that outer Jupiter-like planets may be scarce, therefore, the results presented here suggest that there may be more habitable planets residing in our galaxy than previously thought.

KEPLER PLANETS: A TALE OF EVAPORATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Owen, James E.; Wu, Yanqin

2013-01-01

Inspired by the Kepler mission's planet discoveries, we consider the thermal contraction of planets close to their parent star, under the influence of evaporation. The mass-loss rates are based on hydrodynamic models of evaporation that include both X-ray and EUV irradiation. We find that only low mass planets with hydrogen envelopes are significantly affected by evaporation, with evaporation being able to remove massive hydrogen envelopes inward of ∼0.1 AU for Neptune-mass objects, while evaporation is negligible for Jupiter-mass objects. Moreover, most of the evaporation occurs in the first 100 Myr of stars' lives when they are more chromospherically active. We construct a theoretical population of planets with varying core masses, envelope masses, orbital separations, and stellar spectral types, and compare this population with the sizes and densities measured for low-mass planets, both in the Kepler mission and from radial velocity surveys. This exercise leads us to conclude that evaporation is the driving force of evolution for close-in Kepler planets. In fact, some 50% of the Kepler planet candidates may have been significantly eroded. Evaporation explains two striking correlations observed in these objects: a lack of large radius/low density planets close to the stars and a possible bimodal distribution in planet sizes with a deficit of planets around 2 R ⊕ . Planets that have experienced high X-ray exposures are generally smaller than this size, and those with lower X-ray exposures are typically larger. A bimodal planet size distribution is naturally predicted by the evaporation model, where, depending on their X-ray exposure, close-in planets can either hold on to hydrogen envelopes ∼0.5%-1% in mass or be stripped entirely. To quantitatively reproduce the observed features, we argue that not only do low-mass Kepler planets need to be made of rocky cores surrounded with hydrogen envelopes, but few of them should have initial masses above 20 M ⊕ and

KEPLER PLANETS: A TALE OF EVAPORATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Owen, James E. [Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H8 (Canada); Wu, Yanqin, E-mail: jowen@cita.utoronto.ca, E-mail: wu@astro.utoronto.ca [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4 (Canada)

2013-10-01

Inspired by the Kepler mission's planet discoveries, we consider the thermal contraction of planets close to their parent star, under the influence of evaporation. The mass-loss rates are based on hydrodynamic models of evaporation that include both X-ray and EUV irradiation. We find that only low mass planets with hydrogen envelopes are significantly affected by evaporation, with evaporation being able to remove massive hydrogen envelopes inward of ∼0.1 AU for Neptune-mass objects, while evaporation is negligible for Jupiter-mass objects. Moreover, most of the evaporation occurs in the first 100 Myr of stars' lives when they are more chromospherically active. We construct a theoretical population of planets with varying core masses, envelope masses, orbital separations, and stellar spectral types, and compare this population with the sizes and densities measured for low-mass planets, both in the Kepler mission and from radial velocity surveys. This exercise leads us to conclude that evaporation is the driving force of evolution for close-in Kepler planets. In fact, some 50% of the Kepler planet candidates may have been significantly eroded. Evaporation explains two striking correlations observed in these objects: a lack of large radius/low density planets close to the stars and a possible bimodal distribution in planet sizes with a deficit of planets around 2 R{sub ⊕}. Planets that have experienced high X-ray exposures are generally smaller than this size, and those with lower X-ray exposures are typically larger. A bimodal planet size distribution is naturally predicted by the evaporation model, where, depending on their X-ray exposure, close-in planets can either hold on to hydrogen envelopes ∼0.5%-1% in mass or be stripped entirely. To quantitatively reproduce the observed features, we argue that not only do low-mass Kepler planets need to be made of rocky cores surrounded with hydrogen envelopes, but few of them should have initial masses above

Classifying Planets: Nature vs. Nurture

Science.gov (United States)

Beichman, Charles A.

2009-05-01

The idea of a planet was so simple when we learned about the solar system in elementary school. Now students and professional s alike are faced with confusing array of definitions --- from "Brown Dwarfs” to "Super Jupiters", from "Super Earths” to "Terrestrial Planets", and from "Planets” to "Small, Sort-of Round Things That Aren't Really Planets". I will discuss how planets might be defined by how they formed, where they are found, or by the life they might support.

Extreme states of matter high energy density physics

CERN Document Server

Fortov, Vladimir E

2016-01-01

With its many beautiful colour pictures, this book gives fascinating insights into the unusual forms and behaviour of matter under extremely high pressures and temperatures. These extreme states are generated, among other things, by strong shock, detonation and electric explosion waves, dense laser beams,electron and ion beams, hypersonic entry of spacecraft into dense atmospheres of planets, and in many other situations characterized by extremely high pressures and temperatures.Written by one of the world's foremost experts on the topic, this book will inform and fascinate all scientists dealing with materials properties and physics, and also serve as an excellent introduction to plasma-, shock-wave and high-energy-density physics for students and newcomers seeking an overview. This second edition is thoroughly revised and expanded, in particular with new material on high energy-density physics, nuclear explosions and other nuclear transformation processes.

Fairy-tale planet: creative science writing for children

Science.gov (United States)

Lanza, Tiziana; D'Addezio, Giuliana

2017-04-01

During public events organized by our Institute sometimes we have predisposed a corner to entertain primary school children with fairy-tales about the planet. In that occasion we realized that even if children could take part in other activities more in fashion such as laboratories, theatre performances, exhibits, they were very attracted by fairy tales, such an "ancient" tradition. This year within the projects "alternanza scuola-lavoro" we are planning to involve also the students of the secondary schools to learn themselves how to animate a fairy-tale corner for children. The "alternanza scuola lavoro" (interchange school/work) has been recently introduced in the Italian school as a methodology for implementing the second cycle teaching. The general purpose is to ensure that 15 to 18 years old students, beside the access to basic knowledge, can acquire skills in the employment and real work environments experiencing other teaching methods based both on knowledge and know-how. We will then start a new adventure by investigating what will be the best way to introduce children to creative science writing for the planet. The aim would be that of creating a format suitable for children either for writing all together a planet fairy-tale in class, or individually. The final goal is to raise awareness about the environmental problems by stimulating in scholars their own creativity.

Lunar and terrestrial planet formation in the Grand Tack scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, S. A.; Morbidelli, A.

2014-01-01

We present conclusions from a large number of N-body simulations of the giant impact phase of terrestrial planet formation. We focus on new results obtained from the recently proposed Grand Tack model, which couples the gas-driven migration of giant planets to the accretion of the terrestrial planets. The giant impact phase follows the oligarchic growth phase, which builds a bi-modal mass distribution within the disc of embryos and planetesimals. By varying the ratio of the total mass in the embryo population to the total mass in the planetesimal population and the mass of the individual embryos, we explore how different disc conditions control the final planets. The total mass ratio of embryos to planetesimals controls the timing of the last giant (Moon-forming) impact and its violence. The initial embryo mass sets the size of the lunar impactor and the growth rate of Mars. After comparing our simulated outcomes with the actual orbits of the terrestrial planets (angular momentum deficit, mass concentration) and taking into account independent geochemical constraints on the mass accreted by the Earth after the Moon-forming event and on the time scale for the growth of Mars, we conclude that the protoplanetary disc at the beginning of the giant impact phase must have had most of its mass in Mars-sized embryos and only a small fraction of the total disc mass in the planetesimal population. From this, we infer that the Moon-forming event occurred between approximately 60 and approximately 130 Myr after the formation of the first solids and was caused most likely by an object with a mass similar to that of Mars. PMID:25114304

Planets in a Room

Science.gov (United States)

Giacomini, l.; Aloisi, F.; De Angelis, I.

2017-09-01

Teaching planetary science using a spherical projector to show the planets' surfaces is a very effective but usually very expensive idea. Whatsmore, it usually assumes the availability of a dedicated space and a trained user. "Planets in a room" is a prototypal low cost version of a small, spherical projector that teachers, museum, planetary scientists and other individuals can easily build and use on their own, to show and teach the planets The project of "Planets in a Room" was made by the italian non-profit association Speak Science with the collaboration of INAF-IAPS of Rome and the Roma Tre University (Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica). This proposal was funded by the Europlanet Outreach Funding Scheme in 2016. "Planets in a room" will be presented during EPSC 2017 to give birth to the second phase of the project, when the outreach and research community will be involved and schools from all over Europe will be invited to participate with the aim of bringing planetary science to a larger audience.

Dependence of the Onset of the Runaway Greenhouse Effect on the Latitudinal Surface Water Distribution of Earth-Like Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Kodama, T.; Nitta, A.; Genda, H.; Takao, Y.; O'ishi, R.; Abe-Ouchi, A.; Abe, Y.

2018-02-01

Liquid water is one of the most important materials affecting the climate and habitability of a terrestrial planet. Liquid water vaporizes entirely when planets receive insolation above a certain critical value, which is called the runaway greenhouse threshold. This threshold forms the inner most limit of the habitable zone. Here we investigate the effects of the distribution of surface water on the runaway greenhouse threshold for Earth-sized planets using a three-dimensional dynamic atmosphere model. We considered a 1 bar atmosphere whose composition is similar to the current Earth's atmosphere with a zonally uniform distribution of surface water. As previous studies have already showed, we also recognized two climate regimes: the land planet regime, which has dry low-latitude and wet high-latitude regions, and the aqua planet regime, which is globally wet. We showed that each regime is controlled by the width of the Hadley circulation, the amount of surface water, and the planetary topography. We found that the runaway greenhouse threshold varies continuously with the surface water distribution from about 130% (an aqua planet) to 180% (the extreme case of a land planet) of the present insolation at Earth's orbit. Our results indicate that the inner edge of the habitable zone is not a single sharp boundary, but a border whose location varies depending on planetary surface condition, such as the amount of surface water. Since land planets have wider habitable zones and less cloud cover, land planets would be good targets for future observations investigating planetary habitability.

Trapping planets in an evolving protoplanetary disk: preferred time, locations and planet mass

OpenAIRE

Baillié, Kévin; Charnoz, Sébastien; Pantin, Éric

2016-01-01

Planet traps are necessary to prevent forming planets from falling onto their host star by type I migration. Surface mass density and temperature gradient irregularities favor the apparition of traps and deserts. Such features are found at the dust sublimation lines and heat transition barriers. We study how planets may remain trapped or escape as they grow and as the disk evolves. We model the temporal viscous evolution of a protoplanetary disk by coupling its dynamics, thermodynamics, geome...

MIGRATION THEN ASSEMBLY: FORMATION OF NEPTUNE-MASS PLANETS INSIDE 1 AU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, Brad M. S.; Murray, Norm

2012-01-01

We demonstrate that the observed distribution of 'hot Neptune'/'super-Earth' systems is well reproduced by a model in which planet assembly occurs in situ, with no significant migration post-assembly. This is achieved only if the amount of mass in rocky material is ∼50-100 M ⊕ interior to 1 AU. Such a reservoir of material implies that significant radial migration of solid material takes place, and that it occurs before the stage of final planet assembly. The model not only reproduces the general distribution of mass versus period but also the detailed statistics of multiple planet systems in the sample. We furthermore demonstrate that cores of this size are also likely to meet the criterion to gravitationally capture gas from the nebula, although accretion is rapidly limited by the opening of gaps in the gas disk. If the mass growth is limited by this tidal truncation, then the scenario sketched here naturally produces Neptune-mass objects with substantial components of both rock and gas, as is observed. The quantitative expectations of this scenario are that most planets in the 'hot Neptune/super-Earth' class inhabit multiple-planet systems, with characteristic orbital spacings. The model also provides a natural division into gas-rich (hot Neptune) and gas-poor (super-Earth) classes at fixed period. The dividing mass ranges from ∼3 M ⊕ at 10 day orbital periods to ∼10 M ⊕ at 100 day orbital periods. For orbital periods <10 days, the division is less clear because a gas atmosphere may be significantly eroded by stellar radiation.

When Food Consumes You: Taking Eating to Extremes

Science.gov (United States)

... to weight gain and can be associated with obesity. When binge-eating is followed by “purging,” it’s called bulimia nervosa. People with bulimia nervosa may follow binge-eating by vomiting or taking laxatives to purge, over-exercising, or fasting. They’re often able to maintain a normal ...

THE PAN-PACIFIC PLANET SEARCH. II. CONFIRMATION OF A TWO-PLANET SYSTEM AROUND HD 121056

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wittenmyer, Robert A.; Tinney, C. G. [School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Wang, Liang [Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012 (China); Liu, Fan [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Cotter Road, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 (Australia); Horner, Jonathan [Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Endl, Michael [McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Johnson, John Asher [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Carter, B. D., E-mail: rob@unsw.edu.au [Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350 (Australia)

2015-02-10

Precise radial velocities from the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) confirm the presence of a rare short-period planet around the K0 giant HD 121056. An independent two-planet solution using the AAT data shows that the inner planet has P = 89.1 ± 0.1 days, and m sin i = 1.35 ± 0.17 M{sub Jup}. These data also confirm the planetary nature of the outer companion, with m sin i = 3.9 ± 0.6 M{sub Jup} and a = 2.96 ± 0.16 AU. HD 121056 is the most-evolved star to host a confirmed multiple-planet system, and is a valuable example of a giant star hosting both a short-period and a long-period planet.

THE PAN-PACIFIC PLANET SEARCH. II. CONFIRMATION OF A TWO-PLANET SYSTEM AROUND HD 121056

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wittenmyer, Robert A.; Tinney, C. G.; Wang, Liang; Liu, Fan; Horner, Jonathan; Endl, Michael; Johnson, John Asher; Carter, B. D.

2015-01-01

Precise radial velocities from the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) confirm the presence of a rare short-period planet around the K0 giant HD 121056. An independent two-planet solution using the AAT data shows that the inner planet has P = 89.1 ± 0.1 days, and m sin i = 1.35 ± 0.17 M Jup . These data also confirm the planetary nature of the outer companion, with m sin i = 3.9 ± 0.6 M Jup and a = 2.96 ± 0.16 AU. HD 121056 is the most-evolved star to host a confirmed multiple-planet system, and is a valuable example of a giant star hosting both a short-period and a long-period planet

Pushing the Envelope of Extreme Space Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Pesnell, W. D.

2014-12-01

Extreme Space Weather events are large solar flares or geomagnetic storms, which can cost billions of dollars to recover from. We have few examples of such events; the Carrington Event (the solar superstorm) is one of the few that had superlatives in three categories: size of solar flare, drop in Dst, and amplitude of aa. Kepler observations show that stars similar to the Sun can have flares releasing millions of times more energy than an X-class flare. These flares and the accompanying coronal mass ejections could strongly affect the atmosphere surrounding a planet. What level of solar activity would be necessary to strongly affect the atmosphere of the Earth? Can we map out the envelope of space weather along the evolution of the Sun? What would space weather look like if the Sun stopped producing a magnetic field? To what extreme should Space Weather go? These are the extremes of Space Weather explored in this talk.

Extrasolar Planets in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

George, Samuel J.

2011-01-01

The field of extrasolar planets is still, in comparison with other astrophysical topics, in its infancy. There have been about 300 or so extrasolar planets detected and their detection has been accomplished by various different techniques. Here we present a simple laboratory experiment to show how planets are detected using the transit technique.…

Extrasolar planets searches today and tomorrow

CERN Multimedia

2000-01-01

So far the searches for extrasolar planets have found 40 planetary companions orbiting around nearby stars. In December 1999 a transit has been observed for one of them, providing the first independent confirmation of the reality of close-in planets as well as a measurement of its density. The techniques used to detect planets are limited and the detection threshold is biased but a first picture of the planet diversity and distribution emerges. Results of the search for extra-solar planets and their impacts on planetary formation will be reviewed. Future instruments are foreseen to detect Earth-like planets and possible signatures of organic activity. An overview of these future projects will be presented and more particularly the Darwin-IRSI mission studied by ESA for Horizon 2015.

CONDITIONS OF PASSAGE AND ENTRAPMENT OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS IN SPIN-ORBIT RESONANCES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makarov, Valeri V.

2012-01-01

The dynamical evolution of terrestrial planets resembling Mercury in the vicinity of spin-orbit resonances is investigated using comprehensive harmonic expansions of the tidal torque taking into account the frequency-dependent quality factors and Love numbers. The torque equations are integrated numerically with a small step in time, including the oscillating triaxial torque components but neglecting the layered structure of the planet and assuming a zero obliquity. We find that a Mercury-like planet with a current value of orbital eccentricity (0.2056) is always captured in 3:2 resonance. The probability of capture in the higher 2:1 resonance is approximately 0.23. These results are confirmed by a semi-analytical estimation of capture probabilities as functions of eccentricity for both prograde and retrograde evolutions of spin rate. As follows from analysis of equilibrium torques, entrapment in 3:2 resonance is inevitable at eccentricities between 0.2 and 0.41. Considering the phase space parameters at the times of periastron, the range of spin rates and phase angles for which an immediate resonance passage is triggered is very narrow, and yet a planet like Mercury rarely fails to align itself into this state of unstable equilibrium before it traverses 2:1 resonance.

A septet of Earth-sized planets

Science.gov (United States)

Triaud, Amaury; SPECULOOS Team; TRAPPIST-1 Team

2017-10-01

Understanding the astronomical requirements for life to emerge, and to persist, on a planet is one of the most important and exciting scientific endeavours, yet without empirical answers. To resolve this, multiple planets whose sizes and surface temperatures are similar to the Earth, need to be discovered. Those planets also need to possess properties enabling detailed atmospheric characterisation with forthcoming facilities, from which chemical traces produced by biological activity can in principle be identified.I will describe a dedicated search for such planets called SPECULOOS. Our first detection is the TRAPPIST-1 system. Intensive ground-based and space-based observations have revealed that at least seven planets populate this system. We measured their radii and obtained first estimates of their masses thanks to transit-timing variations. I will describe our on-going observational efforts aiming to reduce our uncertainties on the planet properties. The incident flux on the planets ranges from Mercury to Ceres, comprising the Earth, and permitting climatic comparisons between each of those worlds such as is not possible within our Solar system. All seven planets have the potential to harbour liquid water on at least a fraction of their surfaces, given some atmospheric and geological conditions.

YOUNG SOLAR SYSTEM's FIFTH GIANT PLANET?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nesvorný, David

2011-01-01

Studies of solar system formation suggest that the solar system's giant planets formed and migrated in the protoplanetary disk to reach the resonant orbits with all planets inside ∼15 AU from the Sun. After the gas disk's dispersal, Uranus and Neptune were likely scattered by the gas giants, and approached their current orbits while dispersing the transplanetary disk of planetesimals, whose remains survived to this time in the region known as the Kuiper Belt. Here we performed N-body integrations of the scattering phase between giant planets in an attempt to determine which initial states are plausible. We found that the dynamical simulations starting with a resonant system of four giant planets have a low success rate in matching the present orbits of giant planets and various other constraints (e.g., survival of the terrestrial planets). The dynamical evolution is typically too violent, if Jupiter and Saturn start in the 3:2 resonance, and leads to final systems with fewer than four planets. Several initial states stand out in that they show a relatively large likelihood of success in matching the constraints. Some of the statistically best results were obtained when assuming that the solar system initially had five giant planets and one ice giant, with the mass comparable to that of Uranus and Neptune, and which was ejected to interstellar space by Jupiter. This possibility appears to be conceivable in view of the recent discovery of a large number of free-floating planets in interstellar space, which indicates that planet ejection should be common.

Young Solar System's Fifth Giant Planet?

Science.gov (United States)

Nesvorný, David

2011-12-01

Studies of solar system formation suggest that the solar system's giant planets formed and migrated in the protoplanetary disk to reach the resonant orbits with all planets inside ~15 AU from the Sun. After the gas disk's dispersal, Uranus and Neptune were likely scattered by the gas giants, and approached their current orbits while dispersing the transplanetary disk of planetesimals, whose remains survived to this time in the region known as the Kuiper Belt. Here we performed N-body integrations of the scattering phase between giant planets in an attempt to determine which initial states are plausible. We found that the dynamical simulations starting with a resonant system of four giant planets have a low success rate in matching the present orbits of giant planets and various other constraints (e.g., survival of the terrestrial planets). The dynamical evolution is typically too violent, if Jupiter and Saturn start in the 3:2 resonance, and leads to final systems with fewer than four planets. Several initial states stand out in that they show a relatively large likelihood of success in matching the constraints. Some of the statistically best results were obtained when assuming that the solar system initially had five giant planets and one ice giant, with the mass comparable to that of Uranus and Neptune, and which was ejected to interstellar space by Jupiter. This possibility appears to be conceivable in view of the recent discovery of a large number of free-floating planets in interstellar space, which indicates that planet ejection should be common.

Habitable Planets for Man

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dole, Stephen H

2007-01-01

..., and discusses how to search for habitable planets. Interestingly for our time, he also gives an appraisal of the earth as a planet and describes how its habitability would be changed if some of its basic properties were altered...

The circumstances of minor planet discovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilcher, F.

1989-01-01

The circumstances of discoveries of minor planets are presented in tabular form. Complete data are given for planets 2125-4044, together with notes pertaining to these planets. Information in the table includes the permanent number; the official name; for planets 330 and forward, the table includes the provisional designation attached to the discovery apparition and the year, month, the day of discovery, and the discovery place

The accretion of migrating giant planets

Science.gov (United States)

Dürmann, Christoph; Kley, Wilhelm

2017-02-01

Aims: Most studies concerning the growth and evolution of massive planets focus either on their accretion or their migration only. In this work we study both processes concurrently to investigate how they might mutually affect one another. Methods: We modeled a two-dimensional disk with a steady accretion flow onto the central star and embedded a Jupiter mass planet at 5.2 au. The disk is locally isothermal and viscosity is modeled using a constant α. The planet is held on a fixed orbit for a few hundred orbits to allow the disk to adapt and carve a gap. After this period, the planet is released and free to move according to the gravitational interaction with the gas disk. The mass accretion onto the planet is modeled by removing a fraction of gas from the inner Hill sphere, and the removed mass and momentum can be added to the planet. Results: Our results show that a fast migrating planet is able to accrete more gas than a slower migrating planet. Utilizing a tracer fluid we analyzed the origin of the accreted gas originating predominantly from the inner disk for a fast migrating planet. In the case of slower migration, the fraction of gas from the outer disk increases. We also found that even for very high accretion rates, in some cases gas crosses the planetary gap from the inner to the outer disk. Our simulations show that the crossing of gas changes during the migration process as the migration rate slows down. Therefore, classical type II migration where the planet migrates with the viscous drift rate and no gas crosses the gap is no general process but may only occur for special parameters and at a certain time during the orbital evolution of the planet.

Challenges in forming the solar system's giant planet cores via pebble accretion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kretke, K. A.; Levison, H. F.

2014-01-01

Though ∼10 M ⊕ mass rocky/icy cores are commonly held as a prerequisite for the formation of gas giants, theoretical models still struggle to explain how these embryos can form within the lifetimes of gaseous circumstellar disks. In recent years, aerodynamic-aided accretion of 'pebbles', objects ranging from centimeters to meters in size, has been suggested as a potential solution to this long-standing problem. While pebble accretion has been demonstrated to be extremely effective in local simulations that look at the detailed behavior of these pebbles in the vicinity of a single planetary embryo, to date there have been no global simulations demonstrating the effectiveness of pebble accretion in a more complicated, multi-planet environment. Therefore, we have incorporated the aerodynamic-aided accretion physics into LIPAD, a Lagrangian code that can follow the collisional/accretional/dynamical evolution of a protoplanetary system, to investigate how pebble accretion manifests itself in the larger planet formation picture. We find that under generic circumstances, pebble accretion naturally leads to an 'oligarchic' type of growth in which a large number of planetesimals grow to similar-sized planets. In particular, our simulations tend to form hundreds of Mars- and Earth-mass objects between 4 and 10 AU. While merging of some oligarchs may grow massive enough to form giant planet cores, leftover oligarchs lead to planetary systems that cannot be consistent with our own solar system. We investigate various ideas presented in the literature (including evaporation fronts and planet traps) and find that none easily overcome this tendency toward oligarchic growth.

Scenarios of giant planet formation and evolution and their impact on the formation of habitable terrestrial planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Morbidelli, Alessandro

2014-04-28

In our Solar System, there is a clear divide between the terrestrial and giant planets. These two categories of planets formed and evolved separately, almost in isolation from each other. This was possible because Jupiter avoided migrating into the inner Solar System, most probably due to the presence of Saturn, and never acquired a large-eccentricity orbit, even during the phase of orbital instability that the giant planets most likely experienced. Thus, the Earth formed on a time scale of several tens of millions of years, by collision of Moon- to Mars-mass planetary embryos, in a gas-free and volatile-depleted environment. We do not expect, however, that this clear cleavage between the giant and terrestrial planets is generic. In many extrasolar planetary systems discovered to date, the giant planets migrated into the vicinity of the parent star and/or acquired eccentric orbits. In this way, the evolution and destiny of the giant and terrestrial planets become intimately linked. This paper discusses several evolutionary patterns for the giant planets, with an emphasis on the consequences for the formation and survival of habitable terrestrial planets. The conclusion is that we should not expect Earth-like planets to be typical in terms of physical and orbital properties and accretion history. Most habitable worlds are probably different, exotic worlds.

Planet Hunters: Kepler by Eye

Science.gov (United States)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Lintott, C.; Fischer, D.; Smith, A. M.; Boyajian, T. S.; Brewer, J. M.; Giguere, M. J.; Lynn, S.; Parrish, M.; Schawinski, K.; Schmitt, J.; Simpson, R.; Wang, J.

2014-01-01

Planet Hunters (http://www.planethunters.org), part of the Zooniverse's (http://www.zooniverse.org) collection of online citizen science projects, uses the World Wide Web to enlist the general public to identify transits in the pubic Kepler light curves. Planet Hunters utilizes human pattern recognition to identify planet transits that may be missed by automated detection algorithms looking for periodic events. Referred to as ‘crowdsourcing’ or ‘citizen science’, the combined assessment of many non-expert human classifiers with minimal training can often equal or best that of a trained expert and in many cases outperform the best machine-learning algorithm. Visitors to the Planet Hunters' website are presented with a randomly selected ~30-day light curve segment from one of Kepler’s ~160,000 target stars and are asked to draw boxes to mark the locations of visible transits in the web interface. 5-10 classifiers review each 30-day light curve segment. Since December 2010, more than 260,000 volunteers world wide have participated, contributing over 20 million classifications. We have demonstrated the success of a citizen science approach with the project’s more than 20 planet candidates, the discovery of PH1b, a transiting circumbinary planet in a quadruple star system, and the discovery of PH2-b, a confirmed Jupiter-sized planet in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. I will provide an overview of Planet Hunters, highlighting several of project's most recent exoplanet and astrophysical discoveries. Acknowledgements: MES was supported in part by a NSF AAPF under award AST-1003258 and a American Philosophical Society Franklin Grant. We acknowledge support from NASA ADAP12-0172 grant to PI Fischer.

Infrared radiation from an extrasolar planet.

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, Drake; Seager, Sara; Richardson, L Jeremy; Harrington, Joseph

2005-04-07

A class of extrasolar giant planets--the so-called 'hot Jupiters' (ref. 1)--orbit within 0.05 au of their primary stars (1 au is the Sun-Earth distance). These planets should be hot and so emit detectable infrared radiation. The planet HD 209458b (refs 3, 4) is an ideal candidate for the detection and characterization of this infrared light because it is eclipsed by the star. This planet has an anomalously large radius (1.35 times that of Jupiter), which may be the result of ongoing tidal dissipation, but this explanation requires a non-zero orbital eccentricity (approximately 0.03; refs 6, 7), maintained by interaction with a hypothetical second planet. Here we report detection of infrared (24 microm) radiation from HD 209458b, by observing the decrement in flux during secondary eclipse, when the planet passes behind the star. The planet's 24-microm flux is 55 +/- 10 microJy (1sigma), with a brightness temperature of 1,130 +/- 150 K, confirming the predicted heating by stellar irradiation. The secondary eclipse occurs at the midpoint between transits of the planet in front of the star (to within +/- 7 min, 1sigma), which means that a dynamically significant orbital eccentricity is unlikely.

Starting a Planet Protectors Club

Science.gov (United States)

US Environmental Protection Agency, 2007

2007-01-01

If your mission is to teach children how to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste and create the next generation of Planet Protectors, perhaps leading a Planet Protectors Club is part of your future challenges. You don't have to be an expert in waste reduction and recycling to lead a a Planet Protectors Club. You don't even have to be a teacher. You do…

MIGRATION THEN ASSEMBLY: FORMATION OF NEPTUNE-MASS PLANETS INSIDE 1 AU

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansen, Brad M. S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Murray, Norm, E-mail: hansen@astro.ucla.edu [Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

2012-06-01

We demonstrate that the observed distribution of 'hot Neptune'/'super-Earth' systems is well reproduced by a model in which planet assembly occurs in situ, with no significant migration post-assembly. This is achieved only if the amount of mass in rocky material is {approx}50-100 M{sub Circled-Plus} interior to 1 AU. Such a reservoir of material implies that significant radial migration of solid material takes place, and that it occurs before the stage of final planet assembly. The model not only reproduces the general distribution of mass versus period but also the detailed statistics of multiple planet systems in the sample. We furthermore demonstrate that cores of this size are also likely to meet the criterion to gravitationally capture gas from the nebula, although accretion is rapidly limited by the opening of gaps in the gas disk. If the mass growth is limited by this tidal truncation, then the scenario sketched here naturally produces Neptune-mass objects with substantial components of both rock and gas, as is observed. The quantitative expectations of this scenario are that most planets in the 'hot Neptune/super-Earth' class inhabit multiple-planet systems, with characteristic orbital spacings. The model also provides a natural division into gas-rich (hot Neptune) and gas-poor (super-Earth) classes at fixed period. The dividing mass ranges from {approx}3 M{sub Circled-Plus} at 10 day orbital periods to {approx}10 M{sub Circled-Plus} at 100 day orbital periods. For orbital periods <10 days, the division is less clear because a gas atmosphere may be significantly eroded by stellar radiation.

Kepler's first rocky planet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Batalha, N.M.; Borucki, W.J.; Bryson, S.T.

2011-01-01

NASA's Kepler Mission uses transit photometry to determine the frequency of Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. The mission reached a milestone toward meeting that goal: the discovery of its first rocky planet, Kepler-10b. Two distinct sets of transit events were...... tests on the photometric and pixel flux time series established the viability of the planet candidates triggering ground-based follow-up observations. Forty precision Doppler measurements were used to confirm that the short-period transit event is due to a planetary companion. The parent star is bright...

XUV-exposed, non-hydrostatic hydrogen-rich upper atmospheres of terrestrial planets. Part I: atmospheric expansion and thermal escape.

Science.gov (United States)

Erkaev, Nikolai V; Lammer, Helmut; Odert, Petra; Kulikov, Yuri N; Kislyakova, Kristina G; Khodachenko, Maxim L; Güdel, Manuel; Hanslmeier, Arnold; Biernat, Helfried

2013-11-01

The recently discovered low-density "super-Earths" Kepler-11b, Kepler-11f, Kepler-11d, Kepler-11e, and planets such as GJ 1214b represent the most likely known planets that are surrounded by dense H/He envelopes or contain deep H₂O oceans also surrounded by dense hydrogen envelopes. Although these super-Earths are orbiting relatively close to their host stars, they have not lost their captured nebula-based hydrogen-rich or degassed volatile-rich steam protoatmospheres. Thus, it is interesting to estimate the maximum possible amount of atmospheric hydrogen loss from a terrestrial planet orbiting within the habitable zone of late main sequence host stars. For studying the thermosphere structure and escape, we apply a 1-D hydrodynamic upper atmosphere model that solves the equations of mass, momentum, and energy conservation for a planet with the mass and size of Earth and for a super-Earth with a size of 2 R(Earth) and a mass of 10 M(Earth). We calculate volume heating rates by the stellar soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation (XUV) and expansion of the upper atmosphere, its temperature, density, and velocity structure and related thermal escape rates during the planet's lifetime. Moreover, we investigate under which conditions both planets enter the blow-off escape regime and may therefore experience loss rates that are close to the energy-limited escape. Finally, we discuss the results in the context of atmospheric evolution and implications for habitability of terrestrial planets in general.

[Extrasolar terrestrial planets and possibility of extraterrestrial life].

Science.gov (United States)

Ida, Shigeru

2003-12-01

Recent development of research on extrasolar planets are reviewed. About 120 extrasolar Jupiter-mass planets have been discovered through the observation of Doppler shift in the light of their host stars that is caused by acceleration due to planet orbital motions. Although the extrasolar planets so far observed may be limited to gas giant planets and their orbits differ from those of giant planets in our Solar system (Jupiter and Saturn), the theoretically predicted probability of existence of extrasolar terrestrial planets that can have liquid water ocean on their surface is comparable to that of detectable gas giant planets. Based on the number of extrasolar gas giants detected so far, about 100 life-sustainable planets may exist within a range of 200 light years. Indirect observation of extrasolar terrestrial planets would be done with space telescopes within several years and direct one may be done within 20 years. The latter can detect biomarkers on these planets as well.

Identifying Exoplanets with Deep Learning: A Five-planet Resonant Chain around Kepler-80 and an Eighth Planet around Kepler-90

Science.gov (United States)

Shallue, Christopher J.; Vanderburg, Andrew

2018-02-01

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope was designed to determine the frequency of Earth-sized planets orbiting Sun-like stars, but these planets are on the very edge of the mission’s detection sensitivity. Accurately determining the occurrence rate of these planets will require automatically and accurately assessing the likelihood that individual candidates are indeed planets, even at low signal-to-noise ratios. We present a method for classifying potential planet signals using deep learning, a class of machine learning algorithms that have recently become state-of-the-art in a wide variety of tasks. We train a deep convolutional neural network to predict whether a given signal is a transiting exoplanet or a false positive caused by astrophysical or instrumental phenomena. Our model is highly effective at ranking individual candidates by the likelihood that they are indeed planets: 98.8% of the time it ranks plausible planet signals higher than false-positive signals in our test set. We apply our model to a new set of candidate signals that we identified in a search of known Kepler multi-planet systems. We statistically validate two new planets that are identified with high confidence by our model. One of these planets is part of a five-planet resonant chain around Kepler-80, with an orbital period closely matching the prediction by three-body Laplace relations. The other planet orbits Kepler-90, a star that was previously known to host seven transiting planets. Our discovery of an eighth planet brings Kepler-90 into a tie with our Sun as the star known to host the most planets.

Evidence of an Upper Bound on the Masses of Planets and Its Implications for Giant Planet Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Schlaufman, Kevin C.

2018-01-01

Celestial bodies with a mass of M≈ 10 {M}{Jup} have been found orbiting nearby stars. It is unknown whether these objects formed like gas-giant planets through core accretion or like stars through gravitational instability. I show that objects with M≲ 4 {M}{Jup} orbit metal-rich solar-type dwarf stars, a property associated with core accretion. Objects with M≳ 10 {M}{Jup} do not share this property. This transition is coincident with a minimum in the occurrence rate of such objects, suggesting that the maximum mass of a celestial body formed through core accretion like a planet is less than 10 {M}{Jup}. Consequently, objects with M≳ 10 {M}{Jup} orbiting solar-type dwarf stars likely formed through gravitational instability and should not be thought of as planets. Theoretical models of giant planet formation in scaled minimum-mass solar nebula Shakura–Sunyaev disks with standard parameters tuned to produce giant planets predict a maximum mass nearly an order of magnitude larger. To prevent newly formed giant planets from growing larger than 10 {M}{Jup}, protoplanetary disks must therefore be significantly less viscous or of lower mass than typically assumed during the runaway gas accretion stage of giant planet formation. Either effect would act to slow the Type I/II migration of planetary embryos/giant planets and promote their survival. These inferences are insensitive to the host star mass, planet formation location, or characteristic disk dissipation time.

Giant Planet Candidates, Brown Dwarfs, and Binaries from the SDSS-III MARVELS Planet Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Neil; Ge, Jian; Li, Rui; de Lee, Nathan M.; Heslar, Michael; Ma, Bo; SDSS-Iii Marvels Team

2015-01-01

We report the discoveries of giant planet candidates, brown dwarfs, and binaries from the SDSS-III MARVELS survey. The finalized 1D pipeline has provided 18 giant planet candidates, 16 brown dwarfs, and over 500 binaries. An additional 96 targets having RV variability indicative of a giant planet companion are also reported for future investigation. These candidates are found using the advanced MARVELS 1D data pipeline developed at UF from scratch over the past three years. This pipeline carefully corrects most of the instrument effects (such as trace, slant, distortion, drifts and dispersion) and observation condition effects (such as illumination profile, fiber degradation, and tracking variations). The result is long-term RV precisions that approach the photon limits in many cases for the ~89,000 individual stellar observations. A 2D version of the pipeline that uses interferometric information is nearing completion and is demonstrating a reduction of errors to half the current levels. The 2D processing will be used to increase the robustness of the detections presented here and to find new candidates in RV regions not confidently detectable with the 1D pipeline. The MARVELS survey has produced the largest homogeneous RV measurements of 3300 V=7.6-12 FGK stars with a well defined cadence of 27 RV measurements over 2 years. The MARVELS RV data and other follow-up data (photometry, high contrast imaging, high resolution spectroscopy and RV measurements) will explore the diversity of giant planet companion formation and evolution around stars with a broad range in metallicity (Fe/H -1.5-0.5), mass ( 0.6-2.5M(sun)), and environment (thin disk and thick disk), and will help to address the key scientific questions identified for the MARVELS survey including, but not limited to: Do metal poor stars obey the same trends for planet occurrence as metal rich stars? What is the distribution of giant planets around intermediate-mass stars and binaries? Is the 'planet desert

Red Optical Planet Survey: A radial velocity search for low mass M dwarf planets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minniti D.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We present radial velocity results from our Red Optical Planet Survey (ROPS, aimed at detecting low-mass planets orbiting mid-late M dwarfs. The ∼10 ms−1 precision achieved over 2 consecutive nights with the MIKE spectrograph at Magellan Clay is also found on week long timescales with UVES at VLT. Since we find that UVES is expected to attain photon limited precision of order 2 ms−1 using our novel deconvolution technique, we are limited only by the (≤10 ms−1 stability of atmospheric lines. Rocky planet frequencies of η⊕ = 0.3−0.7 lead us to expect high planet yields, enabling determination of η⊕ for the uncharted mid-late M dwarfs with modest surveys.

Atmospheric dynamics of tidally synchronized extrasolar planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, James Y-K

2008-12-13

Tidally synchronized planets present a new opportunity for enriching our understanding of atmospheric dynamics on planets. Subject to an unusual forcing arrangement (steady irradiation on the same side of the planet throughout its orbit), the dynamics on these planets may be unlike that on any of the Solar System planets. Characterizing the flow pattern and temperature distribution on the extrasolar planets is necessary for reliable interpretation of data currently being collected, as well as for guiding future observations. In this paper, several fundamental concepts from atmospheric dynamics, likely to be central for characterization, are discussed. Theoretical issues that need to be addressed in the near future are also highlighted.

Auroral phenomenology and magnetospheric processes earth and other planets

CERN Document Server

Keiling, Andreas; Bagenal, Fran; Karlsson, Tomas

2013-01-01

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series. Many of the most basic aspects of the aurora remain unexplained. While in the past terrestrial and planetary auroras have been largely treated in separate books, Auroral Phenomenology and Magnetospheric Processes: Earth and Other Planets takes a holistic approach, treating the aurora as a fundamental process and discussing the phenomenology, physics, and relationship with the respective planetary magnetospheres in one volume. While there are some behaviors common in auroras of the diffe

Climate change and their impacts on the our Planet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denkovska, Jasmina

2001-01-01

The global climate change happened on the planet earth: global warming, increasing and decreasing of rains, increasing of the see level etc. The sense for the dangers of climate changes and the need for taking effective steps resulted with a lot of international Agreements, for decreasing of the GHG. The CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O and CFC emissions, created by human activity menace to intensified natural greenhouse effect and warm the earth's surface for more than 2-5 o C for the next decades. (Original)

Literature in Focus : Playing with Planets

CERN Multimedia

2009-01-01

If you think the future is a mystery, think again. With a solid foothold in realism, an extraordinary insight into scientific and technological developments, and a dry sense of humor, Nobel laureate Professor Gerardus ’t Hoof confidently dissects fact from fiction and shows us what our future might really hold. Professor ’t Hooft takes the reader firmly by the hand and, within the boundaries of solid physics and proven laws of nature, takes us on a ride into the world of the future, which holds remarkable surprises for us all. "Do you dream of intergalaxy space travel, time warps and mini-mes? t’Hooft asks. "Then please get yourself some more science fiction books, for fiction that is. But for those who are interested in the real world, let me tell you what we CAN expect for the future." Gerardus t’Hooft Playing with Planets World Scientific Publishing, 17 March 2008, 3pm In the Library, Bldg 52-1-052 Tea and coffee will be served

Atmospheric Circulations of Rocky Planets as Heat Engines

Science.gov (United States)

Koll, D. D. B.

2017-12-01

Rocky planets are extremely common in the galaxy and include Earth, Mars, Venus, and hundreds of exoplanets. To understand and compare the climates of these planets, we need theories that are general enough to accommodate drastically different atmospheric and planetary properties. Unfortunately, few such theories currently exist.For Earth, there is a well-known principle that its atmosphere resembles a heat engine - the atmosphere absorbs heat near the surface, at a hot temperature, and emits heat to space in the upper troposphere, at a cold temperature, which allows it to perform work and balance dissipative processes such as friction. However, previous studies also showed that Earth's hydrological cycle uses up a large fraction of the heat engine's work output, which makes it difficult to view other atmospheres as heat engines.In this work I extend the heat engine principle from Earth towards other rocky planets. I explore both dry and moist atmospheres in an idealized general circulation model (GCM), and quantify their work output using entropy budgets. First, I show that convection and turbulent heat diffusion are important entropy sources in dry atmospheres. I develop a scaling that accounts for its effects, which allows me to predict the strength of frictional dissipation in dry atmospheres. There are strong parallels between my scaling and so-called potential intensity theory, which is a seminal theory for understanding tropical cyclones on Earth. Second, I address how moisture affects atmospheric heat engines. Moisture modifies both the thermodynamic properties of air and releases latent heat when water vapor condenses. I explore the impact of both effects, and use numerical simulations to explore the difference between dry and moist atmospheric circulations across a wide range of climates.

The Detection and Characterization of Extrasolar Planets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ken Rice

2014-09-01

Full Text Available We have now confirmed the existence of > 1800 planets orbiting stars other thanthe Sun; known as extrasolar planets or exoplanets. The different methods for detectingsuch planets are sensitive to different regions of parameter space, and so, we are discoveringa wide diversity of exoplanets and exoplanetary systems. Characterizing such planets isdifficult, but we are starting to be able to determine something of their internal compositionand are beginning to be able to probe their atmospheres, the first step towards the detectionof bio-signatures and, hence, determining if a planet could be habitable or not. Here, Iwill review how we detect exoplanets, how we characterize exoplanetary systems and theexoplanets themselves, where we stand with respect to potentially habitable planets and howwe are progressing towards being able to actually determine if a planet could host life or not.

ANALYSIS OF TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION BY THE GRAND TACK MODEL: SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND TACK LOCATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brasser, R.; Ida, S. [Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550 (Japan); Matsumura, S. [School of Science and Engineering, Division of Physics, Fulton Building, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN (United Kingdom); Mojzsis, S. J. [Collaborative for Research in Origins (CRiO), Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, UCB 399, 2200 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0399 (United States); Werner, S. C. [The Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics, University of Oslo, Sem Saelandsvei 24, NO-0371 Oslo (Norway)

2016-04-20

The Grand Tack model of terrestrial planet formation has emerged in recent years as the premier scenario used to account for several observed features of the inner solar system. It relies on the early migration of the giant planets to gravitationally sculpt and mix the planetesimal disk down to ∼1 au, after which the terrestrial planets accrete from material remaining in a narrow circumsolar annulus. Here, we investigate how the model fares under a range of initial conditions and migration course-change (“tack”) locations. We run a large number of N-body simulations with tack locations of 1.5 and 2 au and test initial conditions using equal-mass planetary embryos and a semi-analytical approach to oligarchic growth. We make use of a recent model of the protosolar disk that takes into account viscous heating, includes the full effect of type 1 migration, and employs a realistic mass–radius relation for the growing terrestrial planets. Our results show that the canonical tack location of Jupiter at 1.5 au is inconsistent with the most massive planet residing at 1 au at greater than 95% confidence. This favors a tack farther out at 2 au for the disk model and parameters employed. Of the different initial conditions, we find that the oligarchic case is capable of statistically reproducing the orbital architecture and mass distribution of the terrestrial planets, while the equal-mass embryo case is not.

Scattering of exocomets by a planet chain: exozodi levels and the delivery of cometary material to inner planets

Science.gov (United States)

Marino, Sebastian; Bonsor, Amy; Wyatt, Mark C.; Kral, Quentin

2018-06-01

Exocomets scattered by planets have been invoked to explain observations in multiple contexts, including the frequently found near- and mid-infrared excess around nearby stars arising from exozodiacal dust. Here we investigate how the process of inward scattering of comets originating in an outer belt, is affected by the architecture of a planetary system, to determine whether this could lead to observable exozodi levels or deliver volatiles to inner planets. Using N-body simulations, we model systems with different planet mass and orbital spacing distributions in the 1-50 AU region. We find that tightly packed (Δap planets are the most efficient at delivering material to exozodi regions (5-7% of scattered exocomets end up within 0.5 AU at some point), although the exozodi levels do not vary by more than a factor of ˜7 for the architectures studied here. We suggest that emission from scattered dusty material in between the planets could provide a potential test for this delivery mechanism. We show that the surface density of scattered material can vary by two orders of magnitude (being highest for systems of low mass planets with medium spacing), whilst the exozodi delivery rate stays roughly constant, and that future instruments such as JWST could detect it. In fact for η Corvi, the current Herschel upper limit rules our the scattering scenario by a chain of ≲30 M⊕ planets. Finally, we show that exocomets could be efficient at delivering cometary material to inner planets (0.1-1% of scattered comets are accreted per inner planet). Overall, the best systems at delivering comets to inner planets are the ones that have low mass outer planets and medium spacing (˜20RH, m).

Evolutionary tracks of the terrestrial planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsui, Takafumi; Abe, Yutaka

1987-01-01

On the basis of the model proposed by Matsui and Abe, the authors show that two major factors - distance from the Sun and the efficiency of retention of accretional energy - control the early evolution of the terrestrial planets. A diagram of accretional energy versus the optical depth of a proto-atmosphere provides a means to follow the evolutionary track of surface temperature of the terrestrial planets and an explanation for why the third planet in our solar system is an 'aqua'-planet. 15 refs; 3 figs

Infrared radiation from an extrasolar planet

OpenAIRE

Deming, Drake; Seager, Sara; Richardson, L. Jeremy; Harrington, Joseph

2005-01-01

A class of extrasolar giant planets - the so-called `hot Jupiters' - orbit within 0.05 AU of their primary stars. These planets should be hot and so emit detectable infrared radiation. The planet HD 209458b is an ideal candidate for the detection and characterization of this infrared light because it is eclipsed by the star. This planet has an anomalously large radius (1.35 times that of Jupiter), which may be the result of ongoing tidal dissipation, but this explanation requires a non-zero o...

Finding A Planet Through the Dust

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-05-01

Finding planets in the crowded galactic center is a difficult task, but infrared microlensing surveys give us a fighting chance! Preliminary results from such a study have already revealed a new exoplanet lurking in the dust of the galactic bulge.Detection BiasesUKIRT-2017 microlensing survey fields (blue), plotted over a map showing the galactic-plane dust extinction. The location of the newly discovered giant planet is marked with blue crosshairs. [Shvartzvald et al. 2018]Most exoplanets weve uncovered thus far were found either via transits dips in a stars light as the planet passes in front of its host star or via radial velocity wobbles of the star as the orbiting planet tugs on it. These techniques, while highly effective, introduce a selection bias in the types of exoplanets we detect: both methods tend to favor discovery of close-in, large planets orbiting small stars; these systems produce the most easily measurable signals on short timescales.For this reason, microlensing surveys for exoplanets have something new to add to the field.Search for a LensIn gravitational microlensing, we observe a background star as it is briefly magnified by a passing foreground star acting as a lens. If that foreground star hosts a planet, we observe a characteristic shape in the observed brightening of the background star, and the properties of that shape can reveal information about the foreground planet.A diagram of how planets are detected via gravitational microlensing. The detectable planet is in orbit around the foreground lens star. [NASA]This technique for planet detection is unique in its ability to explore untapped regions of exoplanet parameter space with microlensing, we can survey for planets around all different types of stars (rather than primarily small, dim ones), planets of all masses near the further-out snowlines where gas and ice giants are likely to form, and even free-floating planets.In a new study led by a Yossi Shvartzvald, a NASA postdoctoral

The hunt for Planet X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Croswell, Ken.

1990-01-01

This article examines the hypothesis that an, as yet unobserved, planet, beyond the orbit of Pluto is responsible for peculiarities in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. A brief overview of the discovery and observation of the outer planets is offered. The evidence for and against the proposition is noted, and the work of two present day scientists, is mentioned both of whom agree with the idea, and are searching for optical proof of the planet's existence. U.K

Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation. II. Dependence of exoplanet architectures on giant planet and disk properties

Science.gov (United States)

Raymond, S. N.; Armitage, P. J.; Moro-Martín, A.; Booth, M.; Wyatt, M. C.; Armstrong, J. C.; Mandell, A. M.; Selsis, F.; West, A. A.

2012-05-01

We present models for the formation of terrestrial planets, and the collisional evolution of debris disks, in planetary systems that contain multiple marginally unstable gas giants. We previously showed that in such systems, the dynamics of the giant planets introduces a correlation between the presence of terrestrial planets and cold dust, i.e., debris disks, which is particularly pronounced at λ ~ 70 μm. Here we present new simulations that show that this connection is qualitatively robust to a range of parameters: the mass distribution of the giant planets, the width and mass distribution of the outer planetesimal disk, and the presence of gas in the disk when the giant planets become unstable. We discuss how variations in these parameters affect the evolution. We find that systems with equal-mass giant planets undergo the most violent instabilities, and that these destroy both terrestrial planets and the outer planetesimal disks that produce debris disks. In contrast, systems with low-mass giant planets efficiently produce both terrestrial planets and debris disks. A large fraction of systems with low-mass (M ≲ 30 M⊕) outermost giant planets have final planetary separations that, scaled to the planets' masses, are as large or larger than the Saturn-Uranus and Uranus-Neptune separations in the solar system. We find that the gaps between these planets are not only dynamically stable to test particles, but are frequently populated by planetesimals. The possibility of planetesimal belts between outer giant planets should be taken into account when interpreting debris disk SEDs. In addition, the presence of ~ Earth-mass "seeds" in outer planetesimal disks causes the disks to radially spread to colder temperatures, and leads to a slow depletion of the outer planetesimal disk from the inside out. We argue that this may explain the very low frequency of >1 Gyr-old solar-type stars with observed 24 μm excesses. Our simulations do not sample the full range of

Limits on the abundance of galactic planets from 5 years of planet observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albrow, MD; An, J; Beaulieu, JP; Caldwell, JAR; DePoy, DL; Dominik, M; Gaudi, BS; Gould, G; Greenhill, J; Hill, K; Kane, S; Martin, R; Menzies, J; Pel, JW; Pogge, RW; Pollard, KR; Sackett, PD; Sahu, KC; Vermaak, P; Watson, R; Williams, A

2001-01-01

We search for signatures of planets in 43 intensively monitored microlensing events that were observed between 1995 and 1999. Planets would be expected to cause a short-duration (similar to1 day) deviation on the smooth, symmetric light curve produced by a single lens. We find no such anomalies and

RESOLVING THE HD 100546 PROTOPLANETARY SYSTEM WITH THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER: EVIDENCE FOR MULTIPLE FORMING, ACCRETING PLANETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Currie, Thayne [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Subaru Telescope (Japan); Cloutier, Ryan [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON (Canada); Brittain, Sean [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC (United States); Grady, Carol; Kuchner, Marc J. [Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysics Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (United States); Muto, Takayuki [Division of Liberal Arts, Kogakuin University, Tokyo (Japan); Kenyon, Scott J. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA (United States)

2015-12-01

We report Gemini Planet Imager H-band high-contrast imaging/integral field spectroscopy and polarimetry of the HD 100546, a 10 Myr old early-type star recently confirmed to host a thermal infrared (IR) bright (super-)Jovian protoplanet at wide separation, HD 100546 b. We resolve the inner disk cavity in polarized light, recover the thermal IR-bright arm, and identify one additional spiral arm. We easily recover HD 100546 b and show that much of its emission plausibly originates from an unresolved point source. The point-source component of HD 100546 b has extremely red IR colors compared to field brown dwarfs, qualitatively similar to young cloudy super-Jovian planets; however, these colors may instead indicate that HD 100546 b is still accreting material from a circumplanetary disk. Additionally, we identify a second point-source-like peak at r{sub proj} ∼ 14 AU, located just interior to or at the inner disk wall consistent with being a <10–20 M{sub J} candidate second protoplanet—“HD 100546 c”—and lying within a weakly polarized region of the disk but along an extension of the thermal IR-bright spiral arm. Alternatively, it is equally plausible that this feature is a weakly polarized but locally bright region of the inner disk wall. Astrometric monitoring of this feature over the next 2 years and emission line measurements could confirm its status as a protoplanet, rotating disk hot spot that is possibly a signpost of a protoplanet, or a stationary emission source from within the disk.

RESOLVING THE HD 100546 PROTOPLANETARY SYSTEM WITH THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER: EVIDENCE FOR MULTIPLE FORMING, ACCRETING PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Currie, Thayne; Cloutier, Ryan; Brittain, Sean; Grady, Carol; Kuchner, Marc J.; Burrows, Adam; Muto, Takayuki; Kenyon, Scott J.

2015-01-01

We report Gemini Planet Imager H-band high-contrast imaging/integral field spectroscopy and polarimetry of the HD 100546, a 10 Myr old early-type star recently confirmed to host a thermal infrared (IR) bright (super-)Jovian protoplanet at wide separation, HD 100546 b. We resolve the inner disk cavity in polarized light, recover the thermal IR-bright arm, and identify one additional spiral arm. We easily recover HD 100546 b and show that much of its emission plausibly originates from an unresolved point source. The point-source component of HD 100546 b has extremely red IR colors compared to field brown dwarfs, qualitatively similar to young cloudy super-Jovian planets; however, these colors may instead indicate that HD 100546 b is still accreting material from a circumplanetary disk. Additionally, we identify a second point-source-like peak at r proj ∼ 14 AU, located just interior to or at the inner disk wall consistent with being a <10–20 M J candidate second protoplanet—“HD 100546 c”—and lying within a weakly polarized region of the disk but along an extension of the thermal IR-bright spiral arm. Alternatively, it is equally plausible that this feature is a weakly polarized but locally bright region of the inner disk wall. Astrometric monitoring of this feature over the next 2 years and emission line measurements could confirm its status as a protoplanet, rotating disk hot spot that is possibly a signpost of a protoplanet, or a stationary emission source from within the disk

TIDAL EVOLUTION OF CLOSE-IN PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumura, Soko; Rasio, Frederic A.; Peale, Stanton J.

2010-01-01

Recent discoveries of several transiting planets with clearly non-zero eccentricities and some large obliquities started changing the simple picture of close-in planets having circular and well-aligned orbits. The two major scenarios that form such close-in planets are planet migration in a disk and planet-planet interactions combined with tidal dissipation. The former scenario can naturally produce a circular and low-obliquity orbit, while the latter implicitly assumes an initially highly eccentric and possibly high-obliquity orbit, which are then circularized and aligned via tidal dissipation. Most of these close-in planets experience orbital decay all the way to the Roche limit as previous studies showed. We investigate the tidal evolution of transiting planets on eccentric orbits, and find that there are two characteristic evolution paths for them, depending on the relative efficiency of tidal dissipation inside the star and the planet. Our study shows that each of these paths may correspond to migration and scattering scenarios. We further point out that the current observations may be consistent with the scattering scenario, where the circularization of an initially eccentric orbit occurs before the orbital decay primarily due to tidal dissipation in the planet, while the alignment of the stellar spin and orbit normal occurs on a similar timescale to the orbital decay largely due to dissipation in the star. We also find that even when the stellar spin-orbit misalignment is observed to be small at present, some systems could have had a highly misaligned orbit in the past, if their evolution is dominated by tidal dissipation in the star. Finally, we also re-examine the recent claim by Levrard et al. that all orbital and spin parameters, including eccentricity and stellar obliquity, evolve on a similar timescale to orbital decay. This counterintuitive result turns out to have been caused by a typo in their numerical code. Solving the correct set of tidal

THE OCCURRENCE RATE OF SMALL PLANETS AROUND SMALL STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dressing, Courtney D.; Charbonneau, David

2013-01-01

We use the optical and near-infrared photometry from the Kepler Input Catalog to provide improved estimates of the stellar characteristics of the smallest stars in the Kepler target list. We find 3897 dwarfs with temperatures below 4000 K, including 64 planet candidate host stars orbited by 95 transiting planet candidates. We refit the transit events in the Kepler light curves for these planet candidates and combine the revised planet/star radius ratios with our improved stellar radii to revise the radii of the planet candidates orbiting the cool target stars. We then compare the number of observed planet candidates to the number of stars around which such planets could have been detected in order to estimate the planet occurrence rate around cool stars. We find that the occurrence rate of 0.5-4 R ⊕ planets with orbital periods shorter than 50 days is 0.90 +0.04 -0.03 planets per star. The occurrence rate of Earth-size (0.5-1.4 R ⊕ ) planets is constant across the temperature range of our sample at 0.51 -0.05 +0.06 Earth-size planets per star, but the occurrence of 1.4-4 R ⊕ planets decreases significantly at cooler temperatures. Our sample includes two Earth-size planet candidates in the habitable zone, allowing us to estimate that the mean number of Earth-size planets in the habitable zone is 0.15 +0.13 -0.06 planets per cool star. Our 95% confidence lower limit on the occurrence rate of Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of cool stars is 0.04 planets per star. With 95% confidence, the nearest transiting Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a cool star is within 21 pc. Moreover, the nearest non-transiting planet in the habitable zone is within 5 pc with 95% confidence.

LARGER PLANET RADII INFERRED FROM STELLAR ''FLICKER'' BRIGHTNESS VARIATIONS OF BRIGHT PLANET-HOST STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastien, Fabienne A.; Stassun, Keivan G.; Pepper, Joshua

2014-01-01

Most extrasolar planets have been detected by their influence on their parent star, typically either gravitationally (the Doppler method) or by the small dip in brightness as the planet blocks a portion of the star (the transit method). Therefore, the accuracy with which we know the masses and radii of extrasolar planets depends directly on how well we know those of the stars, the latter usually determined from the measured stellar surface gravity, log g. Recent work has demonstrated that the short-timescale brightness variations ( f licker ) of stars can be used to measure log g to a high accuracy of ∼0.1-0.2 dex. Here, we use flicker measurements of 289 bright (Kepmag < 13) candidate planet-hosting stars with T eff = 4500-6650 K to re-assess the stellar parameters and determine the resulting impact on derived planet properties. This re-assessment reveals that for the brightest planet-host stars, Malmquist bias contaminates the stellar sample with evolved stars: nearly 50% of the bright planet-host stars are subgiants. As a result, the stellar radii, and hence the radii of the planets orbiting these stars, are on average 20%-30% larger than previous measurements had suggested

Professor: The Animal Planet Optimization

OpenAIRE

Satish Gajawada

2014-01-01

This paper is dedicated to everyone who is interested in making this planet a better place to live. In the past, researchers have explored behavior of several animals separately. But there is scope to explore in the direction where various artificial animals together solve the optimization problem. In this paper, Satish Gajawada proposed The AnimalPlanet Optimization. The concept of this paper is to imitate all the animals on this planet. The idea is to solve the optimization problem where al...

Recipes for planet formation

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Michael R.

2009-11-01

Anyone who has ever used baking soda instead of baking powder when trying to make a cake knows a simple truth: ingredients matter. The same is true for planet formation. Planets are made from the materials that coalesce in a rotating disk around young stars - essentially the "leftovers" from when the stars themselves formed through the gravitational collapse of rotating clouds of gas and dust. The planet-making disk should therefore initially have the same gas-to-dust ratio as the interstellar medium: about 100 to 1, by mass. Similarly, it seems logical that the elemental composition of the disk should match that of the star, reflecting the initial conditions at that particular spot in the galaxy.

Volatile components and continental material of planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Florenskiy, K.P.; Nikolayeva, O.V.

1984-01-01

It is shown that the continental material of the terrestrial planets varies in composition from planet to planet according to the abundances and composition of true volatiles (H 2 0, CO 2 , etc.) in the outer shells of the planets. The formation of these shells occurs very early in a planet's evolution when the role of endogenous processes is indistinct and continental materials are subject to melting and vaporizing in the absence of an atmosphere. As a result, the chemical properties of continental materials are related not only to fractionation processes but also to meltability and volatility. For planets retaining a certain quantity of true volatile components, the chemical transformation of continental material is characterized by a close interaction between impact melting vaporization and endogeneous geological processes

Tracing Planets in Circumstellar Discs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uribe Ana L.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Planets are assumed to form in circumstellar discs around young stellar objects. The additional gravitational potential of a planet perturbs the disc and leads to characteristic structures, i.e. spiral waves and gaps, in the disc density profile. We perform a large-scale parameter study on the observability of these planet-induced structures in circumstellar discs in the (submm wavelength range for the Atacama Large (SubMillimeter Array (ALMA. On the basis of hydrodynamical and magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of star-disc-planet models we calculate the disc temperature structure and (submm images of these systems. These are used to derive simulated ALMA maps. Because appropriate objects are frequent in the Taurus-Auriga region, we focus on a distance of 140 pc and a declination of ≈ 20°. The explored range of star-disc-planet configurations consists of six hydrodynamical simulations (including magnetic fields and different planet masses, nine disc sizes with outer radii ranging from 9 AU to 225 AU, 15 total disc masses in the range between 2.67·10-7 M⊙ and 4.10·10-2 M⊙, six different central stars and two different grain size distributions, resulting in 10 000 disc models. At almost all scales and in particular down to a scale of a few AU, ALMA is able to trace disc structures induced by planet-disc interaction or the influence of magnetic fields in the wavelength range between 0.4...2.0 mm. In most cases, the optimum angular resolution is limited by the sensitivity of ALMA. However, within the range of typical masses of protoplane tary discs (0.1 M⊙...0.001 M⊙ the disc mass has a minor impact on the observability. At the distance of 140 pc it is possible to resolve discs down to 2.67·10-6 M⊙ and trace gaps in discs with 2.67·10-4 M⊙ with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than three. In general, it is more likely to trace planet-induced gaps in magneto-hydrodynamical disc models, because gaps are wider in the presence of

The most conserved genome segments for life detection on Earth and other planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Isenbarger, Thomas A; Carr, Christopher E; Johnson, Sarah Stewart; Finney, Michael; Church, George M; Gilbert, Walter; Zuber, Maria T; Ruvkun, Gary

2008-12-01

On Earth, very simple but powerful methods to detect and classify broad taxa of life by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are now standard practice. Using DNA primers corresponding to the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, one can survey a sample from any environment for its microbial inhabitants. Due to massive meteoritic exchange between Earth and Mars (as well as other planets), a reasonable case can be made for life on Mars or other planets to be related to life on Earth. In this case, the supremely sensitive technologies used to study life on Earth, including in extreme environments, can be applied to the search for life on other planets. Though the 16S gene has become the standard for life detection on Earth, no genome comparisons have established that the ribosomal genes are, in fact, the most conserved DNA segments across the kingdoms of life. We present here a computational comparison of full genomes from 13 diverse organisms from the Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya to identify genetic sequences conserved across the widest divisions of life. Our results identify the 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA genes as well as other universally conserved nucleotide sequences in genes encoding particular classes of transfer RNAs and within the nucleotide binding domains of ABC transporters as the most conserved DNA sequence segments across phylogeny. This set of sequences defines a core set of DNA regions that have changed the least over billions of years of evolution and provides a means to identify and classify divergent life, including ancestrally related life on other planets.

The HARPS-N Rocky Planet Search

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Motalebi, F.; Udry, S.; Gillon, M.

2015-01-01

We know now from radial velocity surveys and transit space missions that planets only a few times more massive than our Earth are frequent around solar-type stars. Fundamental questions about their formation history, physical properties, internal structure, and atmosphere composition are, however......, still to be solved. We present here the detection of a system of four low-mass planets around the bright (V = 5.5) and close-by (6.5 pc) star HD 219134. This is the first result of the Rocky Planet Search programme with HARPS-N on the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo in La Palma. The inner planet orbits...... on a close-in, quasi-circular orbit with a period of 6.767 ± 0.004 days. The third planet in the system has a period of 46.66 ± 0.08 days and a minimum-mass of 8.94 ± 1.13 M⊕, at 0.233 ± 0.002 AU from the star. Its eccentricity is 0.46 ± 0.11. The period of this planet is close to the rotational period...

TWO SMALL PLANETS TRANSITING HD 3167

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanderburg, Andrew; Bieryla, Allyson; Latham, David W.; Mayo, Andrew W.; Berlind, Perry; Duev, Dmitry A.; Jensen-Clem, Rebecca; Kulkarni, Shrinivas; Riddle, Reed; Baranec, Christoph; Law, Nicholas M.; Nieberding, Megan N.; Salama, Maïssa

2016-01-01

We report the discovery of two super-Earth-sized planets transiting the bright (V = 8.94, K = 7.07) nearby late G-dwarf HD 3167, using data collected by the K2 mission. The inner planet, HD 3167 b, has a radius of 1.6 R ⊕ and an ultra-short orbital period of only 0.96 days. The outer planet, HD 3167 c, has a radius of 2.9 R ⊕ and orbits its host star every 29.85 days. At a distance of just 45.8 ± 2.2 pc, HD 3167 is one of the closest and brightest stars hosting multiple transiting planets, making HD 3167 b and c well suited for follow-up observations. The star is chromospherically inactive with low rotational line-broadening, ideal for radial velocity observations to measure the planets’ masses. The outer planet is large enough that it likely has a thick gaseous envelope that could be studied via transmission spectroscopy. Planets transiting bright, nearby stars like HD 3167 are valuable objects to study leading up to the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope .

Groupies and Loners: The Population of Multi-planet Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Van Laerhoven, Christa L.; Greenberg, Richard

2014-11-01

Observational surveys with Kepler and other telescopes have shown that multi-planet systems are very numerous. Considering the secular dynamcis of multi-planet systems provides substantial insight into the interactions between planets in those systems. Since the underlying secular structure of a multi-planet system (the secular eigenmodes) can be calculated using only the planets' masses and semi-major axes, one can elucidate the eccentricity and inclination behavior of planets in those systems even without knowing the planets' current eccentricities and inclinations. We have calculated both the eccentricity and inclination secular eigenmodes for the population of known multi-planet systems whose planets have well determined masses and periods. We will discuss the commonality of dynamically grouped planets ('groupies') vs dynamically uncoupled planets ('loners'), and compare to what would be expected from randomly generated systems with the same overall distribution of masses and semi-major axes. We will also discuss the occurrence of planets that strongly influence the behavior of other planets without being influenced by those others ('overlords'). Examples will be given and general trends will be discussed.

Optimizing the TESS Planet Finding Pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Chitamitara, Aerbwong; Smith, Jeffrey C.; Tenenbaum, Peter; TESS Science Processing Operations Center

2017-10-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a new NASA planet finding all-sky survey that will observe stars within 200 light years and 10-100 times brighter than that of the highly successful Kepler mission. TESS is expected to detect ~1000 planets smaller than Neptune and dozens of Earth size planets. As in the Kepler mission, the Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) processing pipeline at NASA Ames Research center is tasked with calibrating the raw pixel data, generating systematic error corrected light curves and then detecting and validating transit signals. The Transiting Planet Search (TPS) component of the pipeline must be modified and tuned for the new data characteristics in TESS. For example, due to each sector being viewed for as little as 28 days, the pipeline will be identifying transiting planets based on a minimum of two transit signals rather than three, as in the Kepler mission. This may result in a significantly higher false positive rate. The study presented here is to measure the detection efficiency of the TESS pipeline using simulated data. Transiting planets identified by TPS are compared to transiting planets from the simulated transit model using the measured epochs, periods, transit durations and the expected detection statistic of injected transit signals (expected MES). From the comparisons, the recovery and false positive rates of TPS is measured. Measurements of recovery in TPS are then used to adjust TPS configuration parameters to maximize the planet recovery rate and minimize false detections. The improvements in recovery rate between initial TPS conditions and after various adjustments will be presented and discussed.

Extrasolar planets formation, detection and dynamics

CERN Document Server

Dvorak, Rudolf

2008-01-01

This latest, up-to-date resource for research on extrasolar planets covers formation, dynamics, atmospheres and detection. After a look at the formation of giant planets, the book goes on to discuss the formation and dynamics of planets in resonances, planets in double stars, atmospheres and habitable zones, detection via spectra and transits, and the history and prospects of ESPs as well as satellite projects.Edited by a renowned expert in solar system dynamics with chapters written by the leading experts in the method described -- from the US and Europe -- this is an ideal textbook for g

Self-Consistent Atmosphere Models of the Most Extreme Hot Jupiters

Science.gov (United States)

Lothringer, Joshua; Barman, Travis

2018-01-01

We present a detailed look at self-consistent PHOENIX atmosphere models of the most highly irradiated hot Jupiters known to exist. These hot Jupiters typically have equilibrium temperatures approaching and sometimes exceeding 3000 K, orbiting A, F, and early-G type stars on orbits less than 0.03 AU (10x closer than Mercury is to the Sun). The most extreme example, KELT-9b, is the hottest known hot Jupiter with a measured dayside temperature of 4600 K. Many of the planets we model have recently attracted attention with high profile discoveries, including temperature inversions in WASP-33b and WASP-121, changing phase curve offsets possibly caused by magnetohydrodymanic effects in HAT-P-7b, and TiO in WASP-19b. Our modeling provides a look at the a priori expectations for these planets and helps us understand these recent discoveries. We show that, in the hottest cases, all molecules are dissociated down to relatively high pressures. These planets may have detectable temperature inversions, more akin to thermospheres than stratospheres in that an optical absorber like TiO or VO is not needed. Instead, the inversions are created by a lack of cooling in the IR combined with heating from atoms and ions at UV and blue optical wavelengths. We also reevaluate some of the assumptions that have been made in retrieval analyses of these planets.

"Osiris"(HD209458b), an evaporating planet

OpenAIRE

Vidal-Madjar, Alfred; Etangs, Alain Lecavelier des

2003-01-01

Three transits of the planet orbiting the solar type star HD209458 were observed in the far UV at the wavelength of the HI Ly-alpha line. The planet size at this wavelength is equal to 4.3 R_Jup, i.e. larger than the planet Roche radius (3.6 R_Jup). Absorbing hydrogen atoms were found to be blueshifted by up to -130 km/s, exceeding the planet escape velocity. This implies that hydrogen atoms are escaping this ``hot Jupiter'' planet. An escape flux of >~ 10^10g/s is needed to explain the obser...

Towards the Rosetta Stone of planet formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schmidt T.O.B.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Transiting exoplanets (TEPs observed just ~10 Myrs after formation of their host systems may serve as the Rosetta Stone for planet formation theories. They would give strong constraints on several aspects of planet formation, e.g. time-scales (planet formation would then be possible within 10 Myrs, the radius of the planet could indicate whether planets form by gravitational collapse (being larger when young or accretion growth (being smaller when young. We present a survey, the main goal of which is to find and then characterise TEPs in very young open clusters.

Reflected eclipses on circumbinary planets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deeg H.J.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available A photometric method to detect planets orbiting around shortperiodic binary stars is presented. It is based on the detection of eclipse-signatures in the reflected light of circumbinary planets. Amplitudes of such ’reflected eclipses’ will depend on the orbital configurations of binary and planet relative to the observer. Reflected eclipses will occur with a period that is distinct from the binary eclipses, and their timing will also be modified by variations in the light-travel time of the eclipse signal. For the sample of eclipsing binaries found by the Kepler mission, reflected eclipses from close circumbinary planets may be detectable around at least several dozen binaries. A thorough detection effort of such reflected eclipses may then detect the inner planets present, or give solid limits to their abundance.

Examining Risk-Taking Behavior and Sensation Seeking Requirement in Extreme Athletes

Science.gov (United States)

Agilonu, Ali; Bastug, Gulsum; Mutlu, Tonguc Osman; Pala, Adem

2017-01-01

Extreme sports are sport branches which include actions, adventures, risks and difficulties more rather than other sports. Special materials are used in sport branches such as surfing, kite surfing, sailing, snowboarding, paragliding, diving, mountaineering, motor sports and adrenaline release is more rather than in other sport branches. On the…

THE HABITABLE ZONE OF EARTH-LIKE PLANETS WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vladilo, Giovanni; Murante, Giuseppe; Silva, Laura [INAF-Trieste Astronomical Observatory, Trieste (Italy); Provenzale, Antonello [Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate-CNR, Torino (Italy); Ferri, Gaia; Ragazzini, Gregorio, E-mail: vladilo@oats.inaf.it [Department of Physics, University of Trieste, Trieste (Italy)

2013-04-10

As a contribution to the study of the habitability of extrasolar planets, we implemented a one-dimensional energy balance model (EBM), the simplest seasonal model of planetary climate, with new prescriptions for most physical quantities. Here we apply our EBM to investigate the surface habitability of planets with an Earth-like atmospheric composition but different levels of surface pressure. The habitability, defined as the mean fraction of the planet's surface on which liquid water could exist, is estimated from the pressure-dependent liquid water temperature range, taking into account seasonal and latitudinal variations of surface temperature. By running several thousands of EBM simulations we generated a map of the habitable zone (HZ) in the plane of the orbital semi-major axis, a, and surface pressure, p, for planets in circular orbits around a Sun-like star. As pressure increases, the HZ becomes broader, with an increase of 0.25 AU in its radial extent from p = 1/3 to 3 bar. At low pressure, the habitability is low and varies with a; at high pressure, the habitability is high and relatively constant inside the HZ. We interpret these results in terms of the pressure dependence of the greenhouse effect, the efficiency of horizontal heat transport, and the extent of the liquid water temperature range. Within the limits discussed in the paper, the results can be extended to planets in eccentric orbits around non-solar-type stars. The main characteristics of the pressure-dependent HZ are modestly affected by variations of planetary properties, particularly at high pressure.

THE HABITABLE ZONE OF EARTH-LIKE PLANETS WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vladilo, Giovanni; Murante, Giuseppe; Silva, Laura; Provenzale, Antonello; Ferri, Gaia; Ragazzini, Gregorio

2013-01-01

As a contribution to the study of the habitability of extrasolar planets, we implemented a one-dimensional energy balance model (EBM), the simplest seasonal model of planetary climate, with new prescriptions for most physical quantities. Here we apply our EBM to investigate the surface habitability of planets with an Earth-like atmospheric composition but different levels of surface pressure. The habitability, defined as the mean fraction of the planet's surface on which liquid water could exist, is estimated from the pressure-dependent liquid water temperature range, taking into account seasonal and latitudinal variations of surface temperature. By running several thousands of EBM simulations we generated a map of the habitable zone (HZ) in the plane of the orbital semi-major axis, a, and surface pressure, p, for planets in circular orbits around a Sun-like star. As pressure increases, the HZ becomes broader, with an increase of 0.25 AU in its radial extent from p = 1/3 to 3 bar. At low pressure, the habitability is low and varies with a; at high pressure, the habitability is high and relatively constant inside the HZ. We interpret these results in terms of the pressure dependence of the greenhouse effect, the efficiency of horizontal heat transport, and the extent of the liquid water temperature range. Within the limits discussed in the paper, the results can be extended to planets in eccentric orbits around non-solar-type stars. The main characteristics of the pressure-dependent HZ are modestly affected by variations of planetary properties, particularly at high pressure.

New insights into microbial adaptation to extreme saline environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vauclare P.

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Extreme halophiles are microorganisms adapted to low water activity living at the upper salt concentration that life can tolerate. We review here recent data that specify the main factors, which determine their peculiar salt-dependent biochemistry. The data suggested that evolution proceeds by stage to modify the molecular dynamics properties of the entire proteome. Extreme halophiles therefore represent tractable models to understand how fast and to what extent microorganisms adapt to environmental changes. Halophiles are also robust organisms, capable to resist multiple stressors. Preliminary studies indicated that they have developed a cellular response specifically aimed to survive when the salt condition fluctuates. Because of these properties halophilic organisms deserve special attention in the search for traces of life on other planets.

A Planet for Goldilocks: The Search for Evidence of Life Beyond Earth

Science.gov (United States)

Batalha, Natalie M.

2018-01-01

A Planet for Goldilocks: The Search for Evidence of Life Beyond Earth "Not too hot, not too cold" begins the prescription for a world that's just right for life as we know it. Finding evidence of life beyond Earth is one of the primary goals of science agencies around the world thanks in large part to NASA's Kepler Mission which launched in 2009 with the objective of finding Goldilocks planets orbiting other stars like our Sun. Indeed, the space telescope opened our eyes to the terrestrial-sized planets that populate the galaxy as well as exotic worlds unlike anything that exists in the solar system. The mission ignited the search for life beyond earth via remote detection of atmospheric biosignatures on exoplanets. Most recently, our collective imagination was awakened by the discovery of Goldilocks worlds orbiting some of the nearest neighbors to the Sun, turning abstractions into destinations. Dr. Batalha will give an overview of the science legacy of the Kepler Mission and other key discoveries. She'll give a preview of what's to come by highlighting the missions soon to launch and those that are concepts taking shape on the drawing board.

Resonance capture and dynamics of three-planet systems

Science.gov (United States)

Charalambous, C.; Martí, J. G.; Beaugé, C.; Ramos, X. S.

2018-06-01

We present a series of dynamical maps for fictitious three-planet systems in initially circular coplanar orbits. These maps have unveiled a rich resonant structure involving two or three planets, as well as indicating possible migration routes from secular to double resonances or pure three-planet commensurabilities. These structures are then compared to the present-day orbital architecture of observed resonant chains. In a second part of the paper, we describe N-body simulations of type-I migration. Depending on the orbital decay time-scale, we show that three-planet systems may be trapped in different combinations of independent commensurabilities: (i) double resonances, (ii) intersection between a two-planet and a first-order three-planet resonances, and (iii) simultaneous libration in two first-order three-planet resonances. These latter outcomes are found for slow migrations, while double resonances are almost always the final outcome in high-density discs. Finally, we discuss an application to the TRAPPIST-1 system. We find that, for low migration rates and planetary masses of the order of the estimated values, most three-planet sub-systems are able to reach the observed double resonances after following evolutionary routes defined by pure three-planet resonances. The final orbital configuration shows resonance offsets comparable with present-day values without the need of tidal dissipation. For the 8/5 resonance proposed to dominate the dynamics of the two inner planets, we find little evidence of its dynamical significance; instead, we propose that this relation between mean motions could be a consequence of the interaction between a pure three-planet resonance and a two-planet commensurability between planets c and d.

Wandering stars about planets and exo-planets : an introductory notebook

CERN Document Server

Cole, George H A

2006-01-01

The space vehicle spectaculars of recent years have been revealing the full scope and beauty of our own solar system but have also shown that a growing number of other stars too have planetary bodies orbiting around them. The study of these systems is just beginning. It seems that our galaxy contains untold numbers of planets, and presumably other galaxies will be similar to our own. Our solar system contains life, on Earth: do others as well? Such questions excite modern planetary scientists and astro-biologists. This situation is a far cry from ancient times when the five planets that can be

More Planets in the Hyades Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-12-01

A few weeks ago, Astrobites reported on a Neptune-sized planet discovered orbiting a star in the Hyades cluster. A separate study submitted at the same time, however, reveals that there may be even more planets lurking in this system.Thanks, KeplerArtists impression of the Kepler spacecraft and the mapping of the fields of the current K2 mission. [NASA]As we learn about the formation and evolution of planets outside of our own solar system, its important that we search for planets throughout different types of star clusters; observing both old and young clusters, for instance, can tell us about planets in different stages of their evolutionary histories. Luckily for us, we have a tool that has been doing exactly this: the Kepler mission.In true holiday spirit, Kepler is the gift that just keeps on giving. Though two of its reaction wheels have failed, Kepler now as its reincarnation, K2 just keeps detecting more planet transits. Whats more, detailed analysis of past Kepler/K2 data with ever more powerful techniques as well as the addition of high-precision parallaxes for stars from Gaia in the near future ensures that the Kepler data set will continue to reveal new exoplanet transits for many years to come.Image of the Hyades cluster, a star cluster that is only 800 million years old. [NASA/ESA/STScI]Hunting in the Young HyadesTwo studies using K2 data were recently submitted on exoplanet discoveries around EPIC 247589423 in the Hyades cluster, a nearby star cluster that is only 800 million years old. Astrobites reported on the first study in October and discussed details about the newly discovered mini-Neptune presented in that study.The second study, led by Andrew Mann (University of Texas at Austin and NASA Hubble Fellow at Columbia University), was published this week. This study presented a slightly different outcome: the authors detect the presence of not just the one, but three exoplanets orbiting EPIC 247589423.New DiscoveriesMann and collaborators searched

Origin of the Earth and planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Safronov, V.S.; Ruskol, E.L.

1982-01-01

The present state of the Schmidt hypothesis on planets formation by combining cold solid particles and bodies in the protoplanet dust cloud is briefly outlined in a popular form. The most debatable problems of the planet cosmogony: formation of and processes in a protoplanet cloud, results of analytical evaluations and numerical simulation of origin of the Earth and planets-giants are discussed [ru

Orbital Dynamics of Exomoons During Planet–Planet Scattering

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Yu-Cian; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Nicholson, Philip; Raymond, Sean N.

2018-04-01

Planet–planet scattering is the leading mechanism to explain the broad eccentricity distribution of observed giant exoplanets. Here we study the orbital stability of primordial giant planet moons in this scenario. We use N-body simulations including realistic oblateness and evolving spin evolution for the giant planets. We find that the vast majority (~80%–90% across all our simulations) of orbital parameter space for moons is destabilized. There is a strong radial dependence, as moons past are systematically removed. Closer-in moons on Galilean-moon-like orbits (system, be captured by another planet, be ejected but still orbiting its free-floating host planet, or survive on heliocentric orbits as "planets." The survival rate of moons increases with the host planet mass but is independent of the planet's final (post-scattering) orbits. Based on our simulations, we predict the existence of an abundant galactic population of free-floating (former) moons.

Stellar magnetometry and Zeeman-Doppler imaging in exo-planets research using the radial velocity method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hebrard, Elodie

2015-01-01

Forthcoming instruments dedicated to exo-planets detection through the radial velocity method are numerous, and increasingly more accurate. However this method is indirect: orbiting planets are detected and characterised from variations on the spectrum of the host star. We are therefore sensitive to all activity phenomena impacting the spectrum and producing a radial velocity signal (pulsation, granulation, spots, magnetic cycle...). The detection of rocky Earth-like planets around main-sequence stars, and of hot Jupiters into young systems, are currently limited by the intrinsic magnetic activity of the host stars. The radial velocity fluctuations caused by activity (activity jitter) can easily mimic and hide signals from such planets, whose amplitude is of a few m/s and hundreds of m/s, respectively. As a result, the detection threshold of exo-planets is largely set by the stellar activity level. Currently, efforts are invested to overcome this intrinsic limitation. During my PhD, I studied how to take advantage of imaging tomographic techniques (Zeeman-Doppler imaging, ZDI) to characterize stellar activity and magnetic field topologies, ultimately allowing us to filter out the activity jitter. My work is based on spectro-polarimetric observations of a sample of weakly-active M-dwarfs, and young active T Tauri stars. Using a modified version of ZDI, we are able to reconstruct the distribution of active regions, and then model the induced stellar signal allowing us to clean RV curves from the activity jitter. First tests demonstrate that this technique can be efficient enough to recover the planet signal, especially for the more active ones. (author)

Planets in Inuit Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, John

2018-02-01

phenomenon of the "polar night." For several reasons, the role of planets in Inuit astronomy is difficult to determine, due, in part, to the characteristics of the planets themselves. Naked-eye differentiation between the major visible planets is by no means straightforward, and for observers living north of the Arctic Circle, the continuous or semicontinuous periods of daylight/twilight obtaining throughout the late spring, summer, and early fall effectively prevent year-round viewing of the night sky, making much planetary movement unobservable, far less an appreciation of the planets' predictable synodic and sidereal periods. Mitigating against the significant use of planets in Inuit culture is also the principle that their applied astronomy, along with its cosmology and mythologies depend principally on—apart from the sun and the moon—the predictability of the "fixed stars." Inuit of course did see the major planets and took note of them when they moved through their familiar asterisms or appeared, irregularly, as markers of solstice, or harbingers of daylight after winter's dark. Generally, however, planets seem to have been little regarded until after the introduction of Christianity, when, in parts of the Canadian eastern Arctic, Venus, in particular, became associated with Christmas. While there are anecdotal accounts that some of the planets, again especially Venus, may have had a place in Greenlandic mythology, this assertion is far from certain. Furthermore, reports from Alaska and Greenland suggesting that the appearance of Venus was a regular marker of the new year, or a predictor of sun's return, need qualification, given the apparent irregularity of Venus's appearances above the horizon. A survey of relevant literature, including oral history, pertaining either directly or peripherally to Inuit astronomical traditions, reveals few bona fide mention of planets. References to planets in Inuit mythology and astronomy are usually speculative, typically lacking

SILICON AND OXYGEN ABUNDANCES IN PLANET-HOST STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brugamyer, Erik; Dodson-Robinson, Sarah E.; Cochran, William D.; Sneden, Christopher

2011-01-01

The positive correlation between planet detection rate and host star iron abundance lends strong support to the core accretion theory of planet formation. However, iron is not the most significant mass contributor to the cores of giant planets. Since giant planet cores are thought to grow from silicate grains with icy mantles, the likelihood of gas giant formation should depend heavily on the oxygen and silicon abundance of the planet formation environment. Here we compare the silicon and oxygen abundances of a set of 76 planet hosts and a control sample of 80 metal-rich stars without any known giant planets. Our new, independent analysis was conducted using high resolution, high signal-to-noise data obtained at McDonald Observatory. Because we do not wish to simply reproduce the known planet-metallicity correlation, we have devised a statistical method for matching the underlying [Fe/H] distributions of our two sets of stars. We find a 99% probability that planet detection rate depends on the silicon abundance of the host star, over and above the observed planet-metallicity correlation. We do not detect any such correlation for oxygen. Our results would thus seem to suggest that grain nucleation, rather than subsequent icy mantle growth, is the important limiting factor in forming giant planets via core accretion. Based on our results and interpretation, we predict that planet detection should correlate with host star abundance for refractory elements responsible for grain nucleation and that no such trends should exist for the most abundant volatile elements responsible for icy mantle growth.

TWO SMALL PLANETS TRANSITING HD 3167

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vanderburg, Andrew; Bieryla, Allyson; Latham, David W.; Mayo, Andrew W.; Berlind, Perry [Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Duev, Dmitry A.; Jensen-Clem, Rebecca; Kulkarni, Shrinivas; Riddle, Reed [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Baranec, Christoph [University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Law, Nicholas M. [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (United States); Nieberding, Megan N. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Salama, Maïssa, E-mail: avanderburg@cfa.harvard.edu [University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

2016-09-20

We report the discovery of two super-Earth-sized planets transiting the bright (V = 8.94, K = 7.07) nearby late G-dwarf HD 3167, using data collected by the K2 mission. The inner planet, HD 3167 b, has a radius of 1.6 R {sub ⊕} and an ultra-short orbital period of only 0.96 days. The outer planet, HD 3167 c, has a radius of 2.9 R {sub ⊕} and orbits its host star every 29.85 days. At a distance of just 45.8 ± 2.2 pc, HD 3167 is one of the closest and brightest stars hosting multiple transiting planets, making HD 3167 b and c well suited for follow-up observations. The star is chromospherically inactive with low rotational line-broadening, ideal for radial velocity observations to measure the planets’ masses. The outer planet is large enough that it likely has a thick gaseous envelope that could be studied via transmission spectroscopy. Planets transiting bright, nearby stars like HD 3167 are valuable objects to study leading up to the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope .

Blue Marble: Remote Characterization of Habitable Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Woolf, Neville; Lewis, Brian; Chartres, James; Genova, Anthony

2009-01-01

The study of the nature and distribution of habitable environments beyond the Solar System is a key area for Astrobiology research. At the present time, our Earth is the only habitable planet that can be characterized in the same way that we might characterize planets beyond the Solar System. Due to limitations in our current and near-future technology, it is likely that extra-solar planets will be observed as single-pixel objects. To understand this data, we must develop skills in analyzing and interpreting the radiation obtained from a single pixel. These skills must include the study of the time variation of the radiation, and the range of its photometric, spectroscopic and polarimetric properties. In addition, to understand whether we are properly analyzing the single pixel data, we need to compare it with a ground truth of modest resolution images in key spectral bands. This paper discusses the concept for a mission called Blue Marble that would obtain data of the Earth using a combination of spectropolarimetry, spectrophotometry, and selected band imaging. To obtain imagery of the proper resolution, it is desirable to place the Blue Marble spacecraft no closer than the outer region of cis-lunar space. This paper explores a conceptual mission design that takes advantage of low-cost launchers, bus designs and mission elements to provide a cost effective observing platform located at one of the stable Earth-moon Lagrangian points (L4, L5). The mission design allows for the development and use of novel technologies, such as a spinning moon sensor for attitude control, and leverages lessons-learned from previous low-cost spacecraft such as Lunar Prospector to yield a low-risk mission concept.

Planet hunters. VI. An independent characterization of KOI-351 and several long period planet candidates from the Kepler archival data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitt, Joseph R.; Wang, Ji; Fischer, Debra A.; Moriarty, John C.; Boyajian, Tabetha S.; Jek, Kian J.; LaCourse, Daryll; Omohundro, Mark R.; Winarski, Troy; Goodman, Samuel Jon; Jebson, Tony; Schwengeler, Hans Martin; Paterson, David A.; Schwamb, Megan E.; Lintott, Chris; Simpson, Robert; Lynn, Stuart; Smith, Arfon M.; Parrish, Michael; Schawinski, Kevin

2014-01-01

We report the discovery of 14 new transiting planet candidates in the Kepler field from the Planet Hunters citizen science program. None of these candidates overlapped with Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) at the time of submission. We report the discovery of one more addition to the six planet candidate system around KOI-351, making it the only seven planet candidate system from Kepler. Additionally, KOI-351 bears some resemblance to our own solar system, with the inner five planets ranging from Earth to mini-Neptune radii and the outer planets being gas giants; however, this system is very compact, with all seven planet candidates orbiting ≲ 1 AU from their host star. A Hill stability test and an orbital integration of the system shows that the system is stable. Furthermore, we significantly add to the population of long period transiting planets; periods range from 124 to 904 days, eight of them more than one Earth year long. Seven of these 14 candidates reside in their host star's habitable zone.

A New Way to Confirm Planet Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-05-01

What was the big deal behind the Kepler news conference yesterday? Its not just that the number of confirmed planets found by Kepler has more than doubled (though thats certainly exciting news!). Whats especially interesting is the way in which these new planets were confirmed.Number of planet discoveries by year since 1995, including previous non-Kepler discoveries (blue), previous Kepler discoveries (light blue) and the newly validated Kepler planets (orange). [NASA Ames/W. Stenzel; Princeton University/T. Morton]No Need for Follow-UpBefore Kepler, the way we confirmed planet candidates was with follow-up observations. The candidate could be validated either by directly imaging (which is rare) or obtaining a large number radial-velocity measurements of the wobble of the planets host star due to the planets orbit. But once Kepler started producing planet candidates, these approaches to validation became less feasible. A lot of Kepler candidates are small and orbit faint stars, making follow-up observations difficult or impossible.This problem is what inspired the development of whats known as probabilistic validation, an analysis technique that involves assessing the likelihood that the candidates signal is caused by various false-positive scenarios. Using this technique allows astronomers to estimate the likelihood of a candidate signal being a true planet detection; if that likelihood is high enough, the planet candidate can be confirmed without the need for follow-up observations.A breakdown of the catalog of Kepler Objects of Interest. Just over half had previously been identified as false positives or confirmed as candidates. 1284 are newly validated, and another 455 have FPP of1090%. [Morton et al. 2016]Probabilistic validation has been used in the past to confirm individual planet candidates in Kepler data, but now Timothy Morton (Princeton University) and collaborators have taken this to a new level: they developed the first code thats designed to do fully

Does the Galactic Bulge Have Fewer Planets?

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-12-01

The Milky Ways dense central bulge is a very different environment than the surrounding galactic disk in which we live. Do the differences affect the ability of planets to form in the bulge?Exploring Galactic PlanetsSchematic illustrating how gravitational microlensing by an extrasolar planet works. [NASA]Planet formation is a complex process with many aspects that we dont yet understand. Do environmental properties like host star metallicity, the density of nearby stars, or the intensity of the ambient radiation field affect the ability of planets to form? To answer these questions, we will ultimately need to search for planets around stars in a large variety of different environments in our galaxy.One way to detect recently formed, distant planets is by gravitational microlensing. In this process, light from a distant source star is bent by a lens star that is briefly located between us and the source. As the Earth moves, this momentary alignment causes a blip in the sources light curve that we can detect and planets hosted by the lens star can cause an additional observable bump.Artists impression of the Milky Way galaxy. The central bulge is much denserthan the surroundingdisk. [ESO/NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Kornmesser/R. Hurt]Relative AbundancesMost source stars reside in the galactic bulge, so microlensing events can probe planetary systems at any distance between the Earth and the galactic bulge. This means that planet detections from microlensing could potentially be used to measure the relative abundances of exoplanets in different parts of our galaxy.A team of scientists led by Matthew Penny, a Sagan postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University, set out to do just that. The group considered a sample of 31 exoplanetary systems detected by microlensing and asked the following question: are the planet abundances in the galactic bulge and the galactic disk the same?A Paucity of PlanetsTo answer this question, Penny and collaborators derived the expected

SDSS-III MARVELS Planet Candidate RV Follow-up

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Jian; Thomas, Neil; Ma, Bo; Li, Rui; SIthajan, Sirinrat

2014-02-01

Planetary systems, discovered by the radial velocity (RV) surveys, reveal strong correlations between the planet frequency and stellar properties, such as metallicity and mass, and a greater diversity in planets than found in the solar system. However, due to the sample sizes of extant surveys (~100 to a few hundreds of stars) and their heterogeneity, many key questions remained to be addressed: Do metal poor stars obey the same trends for planet occurrence as metal rich stars? What is the distribution of giant planets around intermediate- mass stars and binaries? Is the ``planet desert'' within 0.6 AU in the planet orbital distribution of intermediate-mass stars real? The MARVELS survey has produced the largest homogeneous RV measurements of 3300 V=7.6-12 FGK stars. The latest data pipeline effort at UF has been able to remove long term systematic errors suffered in the earlier data pipeline. 18 high confident giant planet candidates have been identified among newly processed data. We propose to follow up these giant planet candidates with the KPNO EXPERT instrument to confirm the detection and also characterize their orbits. The confirmed planets will be used to measure occurrence rates, distributions and multiplicity of giants planets around F,G,K stars with a broad range of mass (~0.6-2.5 M_⊙) and metallicity ([Fe/H]~-1.5-0.5). The well defined MARVELS survey cadence allows robust determinations of completeness limits for rigorously testing giant planet formation theories and constraining models.

Motions on a rotating planet

Science.gov (United States)

Schröer, H.

In chapter 1 we want to describe the motion of a falling body on a rotating planet. The planet rotates with an arbitrary changable angular velocity and has a translational acceleration. We obtain 3 differential equations. For the general gravitational field an exact solution is possible, when the differential equation system is explicit solvable. Then we consider the case, if the angular velocity and the translational acceleration is constant. With a special transformation we get 3 partial differential equations of first order. Instead of a planet sphere we can choose a general body of rotation. Even general bodies are possible. Chapter 2 contains the motion in a local coordinate system on planet's surface. We have an inhomogeneous linear differential equation of first order. If the angular velocity is constant, we get a system with constant coefficients. There is an english and a german edition.

Solar system a visual exploration of the planets, moons, and other heavenly bodies that orbit our sun

CERN Document Server

Chown, Marcus

2011-01-01

Based on the latest ebook sensation developed by Theodore Gray and his company Touch Press, this beautiful print book presents a new and fascinating way to experience the wonders of the solar system Following the stunning success of both the print edition and the app of The Elements, Black Dog & Leventhal and Touch Press have teamed up again. Solar System is something completely new under the sun. Never before have the wonders of our solar system—all its planets, dwarf planets, the sun, moons, rocky Asteroid Belt, and icy Kuiper Belt—been so immediately accessible to readers of all ages. Beginning with a fascinating overview and then organized by planet, in order of its distance from the sun, Solar System takes us on a trip across time and space that includes a front-row seat to the explosive birth of the solar system, a journey to (and then deep inside) each of its eight planets, and even an in-depth exploration of asteroids and comets. With hundreds of gorgeous images produced especially for this...

Survival Function Analysis of Planet Size Distribution

OpenAIRE

Zeng, Li; Jacobsen, Stein B.; Sasselov, Dimitar D.; Vanderburg, Andrew

2018-01-01

Applying the survival function analysis to the planet radius distribution of the Kepler exoplanet candidates, we have identified two natural divisions of planet radius at 4 Earth radii and 10 Earth radii. These divisions place constraints on planet formation and interior structure model. The division at 4 Earth radii separates small exoplanets from large exoplanets above. When combined with the recently-discovered radius gap at 2 Earth radii, it supports the treatment of planets 2-4 Earth rad...

Giant Planets: Good Neighbors for Habitable Worlds?

Science.gov (United States)

Georgakarakos, Nikolaos; Eggl, Siegfried; Dobbs-Dixon, Ian

2018-04-01

The presence of giant planets influences potentially habitable worlds in numerous ways. Massive celestial neighbors can facilitate the formation of planetary cores and modify the influx of asteroids and comets toward Earth analogs later on. Furthermore, giant planets can indirectly change the climate of terrestrial worlds by gravitationally altering their orbits. Investigating 147 well-characterized exoplanetary systems known to date that host a main-sequence star and a giant planet, we show that the presence of “giant neighbors” can reduce a terrestrial planet’s chances to remain habitable, even if both planets have stable orbits. In a small fraction of systems, however, giant planets slightly increase the extent of habitable zones provided that the terrestrial world has a high climate inertia. In providing constraints on where giant planets cease to affect the habitable zone size in a detrimental fashion, we identify prime targets in the search for habitable worlds.

EXTRASOLAR BINARY PLANETS. II. DETECTABILITY BY TRANSIT OBSERVATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, K. M.; Ida, S.; Ochiai, H.; Nagasawa, M.

2015-01-01

We discuss the detectability of gravitationally bound pairs of gas-giant planets (which we call “binary planets”) in extrasolar planetary systems that are formed through orbital instability followed by planet–planet dynamical tides during their close encounters, based on the results of N-body simulations by Ochiai et al. (Paper I). Paper I showed that the formation probability of a binary is as much as ∼10% for three giant planet systems that undergo orbital instability, and after post-capture long-term tidal evolution, the typical binary separation is three to five times the sum of the physical radii of the planets. The binary planets are stable during the main-sequence lifetime of solar-type stars, if the stellarcentric semimajor axis of the binary is larger than 0.3 AU. We show that detecting modulations of transit light curves is the most promising observational method to detect binary planets. Since the likely binary separations are comparable to the stellar diameter, the shape of the transit light curve is different from transit to transit, depending on the phase of the binary’s orbit. The transit durations and depth for binary planet transits are generally longer and deeper than those for the single planet case. We point out that binary planets could exist among the known inflated gas-giant planets or objects classified as false positive detections at orbital radii ≳0.3 AU, propose a binary planet explanation for the CoRoT candidate SRc01 E2 1066, and show that binary planets are likely to be present in, and could be detected using, Kepler-quality data

Global dynamics of dust grains in magnetic planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inarrea, Manuel; Lanchares, Victor; Palacian, Jesus F.; Pascual, Ana I.; Salas, J. Pablo; Yanguas, Patricia

2005-01-01

We study the dynamics of a charged particle orbiting a rotating magnetic planet. The system is modelled by the Hamiltonian of the two-body problem perturbed by an axially-symmetric potential. The perturbation consists in a magnetic dipole field and a corotational electric field. After an averaging process we arrive at a one degree of freedom Hamiltonian system for which we obtain its relative equilibria and bifurcations. It is shown that the system exhibits a complex and rich dynamics. In particular, dramatic changes in the phase flow take place in the vicinity of a circular equatorial orbit, that in the case of Saturn is located inside the E-ring

Global dynamics of dust grains in magnetic planets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inarrea, Manuel [Universidad de La Rioja, Area de Fisica Aplicada, 26006 Logrono (Spain)]. E-mail: manuel.inarrea@dq.unirioja.es; Lanchares, Victor [Universidad de La Rioja, Departamento de Matematicas y Computacion, 26004 Logrono (Spain); Palacian, Jesus F. [Universidad Publica de Navarra, Departamento de Matematica e Informatica, 31006 Pamplona (Spain); Pascual, Ana I. [Universidad de La Rioja, Departamento de Matematicas y Computacion, 26004 Logrono (Spain); Salas, J. Pablo [Universidad de La Rioja, Area de Fisica Aplicada, 26006 Logrono (Spain); Yanguas, Patricia [Universidad Publica de Navarra, Departamento de Matematica e Informatica, 31006 Pamplona (Spain)

2005-05-02

We study the dynamics of a charged particle orbiting a rotating magnetic planet. The system is modelled by the Hamiltonian of the two-body problem perturbed by an axially-symmetric potential. The perturbation consists in a magnetic dipole field and a corotational electric field. After an averaging process we arrive at a one degree of freedom Hamiltonian system for which we obtain its relative equilibria and bifurcations. It is shown that the system exhibits a complex and rich dynamics. In particular, dramatic changes in the phase flow take place in the vicinity of a circular equatorial orbit, that in the case of Saturn is located inside the E-ring.

Planets around the evolved stars 24 Boötis and γ Libra: A 30 d-period planet and a double giant-planet system in possible 7:3 MMR

Science.gov (United States)

Takarada, Takuya; Sato, Bun'ei; Omiya, Masashi; Harakawa, Hiroki; Nagasawa, Makiko; Izumiura, Hideyuki; Kambe, Eiji; Takeda, Yoichi; Yoshida, Michitoshi; Itoh, Yoichi; Ando, Hiroyasu; Kokubo, Eiichiro; Ida, Shigeru

2018-05-01

We report the detection of planets around two evolved giant stars from radial velocity measurements at Okayama Astrophysical observatory. 24 Boo (G3 IV) has a mass of 0.99 M_{⊙}, a radius of 10.64 R_{⊙}, and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.77. The star hosts one planet with a minimum mass of 0.91 MJup and an orbital period of 30.35 d. The planet has one of the shortest orbital periods among those ever found around evolved stars using radial-velocity methods. The stellar radial velocities show additional periodicity with 150 d, which can probably be attributed to stellar activity. The star is one of the lowest-metallicity stars orbited by planets currently known. γ Lib (K0 III) is also a metal-poor giant with a mass of 1.47 M_{⊙}, a radius of 11.1 R_{⊙}, and [Fe/H] = -0.30. The star hosts two planets with minimum masses of 1.02 MJup and 4.58 MJup, and periods of 415 d and 964 d, respectively. The star has the second-lowest metallicity among the giant stars hosting more than two planets. Dynamical stability analysis for the γ Lib system sets the minimum orbital inclination angle to be about 70° and suggests that the planets are in 7:3 mean-motion resonance, though the current best-fitting orbits for the radial-velocity data are not totally regular.

The planet Mercury (1971)

Science.gov (United States)

1972-01-01

The physical properties of the planet Mercury, its surface, and atmosphere are presented for space vehicle design criteria. The mass, dimensions, mean density, and orbital and rotational motions are described. The gravity field, magnetic field, electromagnetic radiation, and charged particles in the planet's orbit are discussed. Atmospheric pressure, temperature, and composition data are given along with the surface composition, soil mechanical properties, and topography, and the surface electromagnetic and temperature properties.

Constraining the volatile fraction of planets from transit observations

Science.gov (United States)

Alibert, Y.

2016-06-01

Context. The determination of the abundance of volatiles in extrasolar planets is very important as it can provide constraints on transport in protoplanetary disks and on the formation location of planets. However, constraining the internal structure of low-mass planets from transit measurements is known to be a degenerate problem. Aims: Using planetary structure and evolution models, we show how observations of transiting planets can be used to constrain their internal composition, in particular the amount of volatiles in the planetary interior, and consequently the amount of gas (defined in this paper to be only H and He) that the planet harbors. We first explore planets that are located close enough to their star to have lost their gas envelope. We then concentrate on planets at larger distances and show that the observation of transiting planets at different evolutionary ages can provide statistical information on their internal composition, in particular on their volatile fraction. Methods: We computed the evolution of low-mass planets (super-Earths to Neptune-like) for different fractions of volatiles and gas. We used a four-layer model (core, silicate mantle, icy mantle, and gas envelope) and computed the internal structure of planets for different luminosities. With this internal structure model, we computed the internal and gravitational energy of planets, which was then used to derive the time evolution of the planet. Since the total energy of a planet depends on its heat capacity and density distribution and therefore on its composition, planets with different ice fractions have different evolution tracks. Results: We show for low-mass gas-poor planets that are located close to their central star that assuming evaporation has efficiently removed the entire gas envelope, it is possible to constrain the volatile fraction of close-in transiting planets. We illustrate this method on the example of 55 Cnc e and show that under the assumption of the absence of

ECCENTRIC JUPITERS VIA DISK–PLANET INTERACTIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duffell, Paul C.; Chiang, Eugene

2015-01-01

Numerical hydrodynamics calculations are performed to determine the conditions under which giant planet eccentricities can be excited by parent gas disks. Unlike in other studies, Jupiter-mass planets are found to have their eccentricities amplified—provided their orbits start off as eccentric. We disentangle the web of co-rotation, co-orbital, and external resonances to show that this finite-amplitude instability is consistent with that predicted analytically. Ellipticities can grow until they reach of order of the disk's aspect ratio, beyond which the external Lindblad resonances that excite eccentricity are weakened by the planet's increasingly supersonic epicyclic motion. Forcing the planet to still larger eccentricities causes catastrophic eccentricity damping as the planet collides into gap walls. For standard parameters, the range of eccentricities for instability is modest; the threshold eccentricity for growth (∼0.04) is not much smaller than the final eccentricity to which orbits grow (∼0.07). If this threshold eccentricity can be lowered (perhaps by non-barotropic effects), and if the eccentricity driving documented here survives in 3D, it may robustly explain the low-to-moderate eccentricities ≲0.1 exhibited by many giant planets (including Jupiter and Saturn), especially those without planetary or stellar companions

Magnetospheric structure and atmospheric Joule heating of habitable planets orbiting M-dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, O.; Drake, J. J.; Garraffo, C.; Poppenhaeger, K. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Glocer, A. [NASA/GSFC, Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Bell, J. M. [Center for Planetary Atmospheres and Flight Sciences, National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, VA 23666 (United States); Ridley, A. J.; Gombosi, T. I. [Center for Space Environment Modeling, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2014-07-20

We study the magnetospheric structure and the ionospheric Joule Heating of planets orbiting M-dwarf stars in the habitable zone using a set of magnetohydrodynamic models. The stellar wind solution is used to drive a model for the planetary magnetosphere, which is coupled with a model for the planetary ionosphere. Our simulations reveal that the space environment around close-in habitable planets is extreme, and the stellar wind plasma conditions change from sub- to super-Alfvénic along the planetary orbit. As a result, the magnetospheric structure changes dramatically with a bow shock forming in the super-Alfvénic sectors, while no bow shock forms in the sub-Alfvénic sectors. The planets reside most of the time in the sub-Alfvénic sectors with poor atmospheric protection. A significant amount of Joule Heating is provided at the top of the atmosphere as a result of the intense stellar wind. For the steady-state solution, the heating is about 0.1%-3% of the total incoming stellar irradiation, and it is enhanced by 50% for the time-dependent case. The significant Joule Heating obtained here should be considered in models for the atmospheres of habitable planets in terms of the thickness of the atmosphere, the top-side temperature and density, the boundary conditions for the atmospheric pressure, and particle radiation and transport. Here we assume constant ionospheric Pedersen conductance similar to that of the Earth. The conductance could be greater due to the intense EUV radiation leading to smaller heating rates. We plan to quantify the ionospheric conductance in future study.

Planets, stars and stellar systems

CERN Document Server

Bond, Howard; McLean, Ian; Barstow, Martin; Gilmore, Gerard; Keel, William; French, Linda

2013-01-01

This is volume 3 of Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems, a six-volume compendium of modern astronomical research covering subjects of key interest to the main fields of contemporary astronomy. This volume on “Solar and Stellar Planetary Systems” edited by Linda French and Paul Kalas presents accessible review chapters From Disks to Planets, Dynamical Evolution of Planetary Systems, The Terrestrial Planets, Gas and Ice Giant Interiors, Atmospheres of Jovian Planets, Planetary Magnetospheres, Planetary Rings, An Overview of the Asteroids and Meteorites, Dusty Planetary Systems and Exoplanet Detection Methods. All chapters of the handbook were written by practicing professionals. They include sufficient background material and references to the current literature to allow readers to learn enough about a specialty within astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology to get started on their own practical research projects. In the spirit of the series Stars and Stellar Systems published by Chicago University Press in...

Dictionary of Minor Planet Names

CERN Document Server

Schmadel, Lutz D

2007-01-01

Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Fifth Edition, is the official reference for the field of the IAU, which serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and any surface features on them. The accelerating rate of the discovery of minor planets has not only made a new edition of this established compendium necessary but has also significantly altered its scope: this thoroughly revised edition concentrates on the approximately 10,000 minor planets that carry a name. It provides authoritative information about the basis for all names of minor planets. In addition to being of practical value for identification purposes, this collection provides a most interesting historical insight into the work of those astronomers who over two centuries vested their affinities in a rich and colorful variety of ingenious names, from heavenly goddesses to more prosaic constructions. The fifth edition serves as the primary reference, with plans for complementary booklets with newl...

K2-106, a system containing a metal-rich planet and a planet of lower density

Science.gov (United States)

Guenther, E. W.; Barragán, O.; Dai, F.; Gandolfi, D.; Hirano, T.; Fridlund, M.; Fossati, L.; Chau, A.; Helled, R.; Korth, J.; Prieto-Arranz, J.; Nespral, D.; Antoniciello, G.; Deeg, H.; Hjorth, M.; Grziwa, S.; Albrecht, S.; Hatzes, A. P.; Rauer, H.; Csizmadia, Sz.; Smith, A. M. S.; Cabrera, J.; Narita, N.; Arriagada, P.; Burt, J.; Butler, R. P.; Cochran, W. D.; Crane, J. D.; Eigmüller, Ph.; Erikson, A.; Johnson, J. A.; Kiilerich, A.; Kubyshkina, D.; Palle, E.; Persson, C. M.; Pätzold, M.; Sabotta, S.; Sato, B.; Shectman, St. A.; Teske, J. K.; Thompson, I. B.; Van Eylen, V.; Nowak, G.; Vanderburg, A.; Winn, J. N.; Wittenmyer, R. A.

2017-12-01

Aims: Planets in the mass range from 2 to 15 M⊕ are very diverse. Some of them have low densities, while others are very dense. By measuring the masses and radii, the mean densities, structure, and composition of the planets are constrained. These parameters also give us important information about their formation and evolution, and about possible processes for atmospheric loss. Methods: We determined the masses, radii, and mean densities for the two transiting planets orbiting K2-106. The inner planet has an ultra-short period of 0.57 days. The period of the outer planet is 13.3 days. Results: Although the two planets have similar masses, their densities are very different. For K2-106b we derive Mb=8.36-0.94+0.96 M⊕, Rb = 1.52 ± 0.16 R⊕, and a high density of 13.1-3.6+5.4 g cm-3. For K2-106c, we find Mc=5.8-3.0+3.3 M⊕, Rc=2.50-0.26+0.27 R⊕ and a relatively low density of 2.0-1.1+1.6 g cm-3. Conclusions: Since the system contains two planets of almost the same mass, but different distances from the host star, it is an excellent laboratory to study atmospheric escape. In agreement with the theory of atmospheric-loss processes, it is likely that the outer planet has a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. The mass and radius of the inner planet is in agreement with theoretical models predicting an iron core containing 80-30+20% of its mass. Such a high metal content is surprising, particularly given that the star has an ordinary (solar) metal abundance. We discuss various possible formation scenarios for this unusual planet. The results are partly based on observations obtained at the European Southern Observatory at Paranal, Chile in program 098.C-0860(A). This paper includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. The article is also partly based on observations with the TNG, NOT. This work has also made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (http

How Do Earth-Sized, Short-Period Planets Form?

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-08-01

Matching theory to observation often requires creative detective work. In a new study, scientists have used a clever test to reveal clues about the birth of speedy, Earth-sized planets.Former Hot Jupiters?Artists impression of a hot Jupiter with an evaporating atmosphere. [NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech]Among the many different types of exoplanets weve observed, one unusual category is that of ultra-short-period planets. These roughly Earth-sized planets speed around their host stars at incredible rates, with periods of less than a day.How do planets in this odd category form? One popular theory is that they were previously hot Jupiters, especially massive gas giants orbiting very close to their host stars. The close orbit caused the planets atmospheres to be stripped away, leaving behind only their dense cores.In a new study, a team of astronomers led by Joshua Winn (Princeton University) has found a clever way to test this theory.Planetary radius vs. orbital period for the authors three statistical samples (colored markers) and the broader sample of stars in the California Kepler Survey. [Winn et al. 2017]Testing MetallicitiesStars hosting hot Jupiters have an interesting quirk: they typically have metallicities that are significantly higher than an average planet-hosting star. It is speculated that this is because planets are born from the same materials as their host stars, and hot Jupiters require the presence of more metals to be able to form.Regardless of the cause of this trend, if ultra-short-period planets are in fact the solid cores of former hot Jupiters, then the two categories of planets should have hosts with the same metallicity distributions. The ultra-short-period-planet hosts should therefore also be weighted to higher metallicities than average planet-hosting stars.To test this, the authors make spectroscopic measurements and gather data for a sample of stellar hosts split into three categories:64 ultra-short-period planets (orbital period shorter than a

MIGRATION OF PLANETS EMBEDDED IN A CIRCUMSTELLAR DISK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bromley, Benjamin C.; Kenyon, Scott J.

2011-01-01

Planetary migration poses a serious challenge to theories of planet formation. In gaseous and planetesimal disks, migration can remove planets as quickly as they form. To explore migration in a planetesimal disk, we combine analytic and numerical approaches. After deriving general analytic migration rates for isolated planets, we use N-body simulations to confirm these results for fast and slow migration modes. Migration rates scale as m -1 (for massive planets) and (1 + (e H /3) 3 ) -1 , where m is the mass of a planet and e H is the eccentricity of the background planetesimals in Hill units. When multiple planets stir the disk, our simulations yield the new result that large-scale migration ceases. Thus, growing planets do not migrate through planetesimal disks. To extend these results to migration in gaseous disks, we compare physical interactions and rates. Although migration through a gaseous disk is an important issue for the formation of gas giants, we conclude that migration has little impact on the formation of terrestrial planets.

Planet Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Podolak, Morris

2018-04-01

Modern observational techniques are still not powerful enough to directly view planet formation, and so it is necessary to rely on theory. However, observations do give two important clues to the formation process. The first is that the most primitive form of material in interstellar space exists as a dilute gas. Some of this gas is unstable against gravitational collapse, and begins to contract. Because the angular momentum of the gas is not zero, it contracts along the spin axis, but remains extended in the plane perpendicular to that axis, so that a disk is formed. Viscous processes in the disk carry most of the mass into the center where a star eventually forms. In the process, almost as a by-product, a planetary system is formed as well. The second clue is the time required. Young stars are indeed observed to have gas disks, composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, surrounding them, and observations tell us that these disks dissipate after about 5 to 10 million years. If planets like Jupiter and Saturn, which are very rich in hydrogen and helium, are to form in such a disk, they must accrete their gas within 5 million years of the time of the formation of the disk. Any formation scenario one proposes must produce Jupiter in that time, although the terrestrial planets, which don't contain significant amounts of hydrogen and helium, could have taken longer to build. Modern estimates for the formation time of the Earth are of the order of 100 million years. To date there are two main candidate theories for producing Jupiter-like planets. The core accretion (CA) scenario supposes that any solid materials in the disk slowly coagulate into protoplanetary cores with progressively larger masses. If the core remains small enough it won't have a strong enough gravitational force to attract gas from the surrounding disk, and the result will be a terrestrial planet. If the core grows large enough (of the order of ten Earth masses), and the disk has not yet dissipated, then

Geophysical and atmospheric evolution of habitable planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Lammer, Helmut; Selsis, Frank; Chassefière, Eric; Breuer, Doris; Griessmeier, Jean-Mathias; Kulikov, Yuri N; Erkaev, Nikolai V; Khodachenko, Maxim L; Biernat, Helfried K; Leblanc, Francois; Kallio, Esa; Lundin, Richard; Westall, Frances; Bauer, Siegfried J; Beichman, Charles; Danchi, William; Eiroa, Carlos; Fridlund, Malcolm; Gröller, Hannes; Hanslmeier, Arnold; Hausleitner, Walter; Henning, Thomas; Herbst, Tom; Kaltenegger, Lisa; Léger, Alain; Leitzinger, Martin; Lichtenegger, Herbert I M; Liseau, René; Lunine, Jonathan; Motschmann, Uwe; Odert, Petra; Paresce, Francesco; Parnell, John; Penny, Alan; Quirrenbach, Andreas; Rauer, Heike; Röttgering, Huub; Schneider, Jean; Spohn, Tilman; Stadelmann, Anja; Stangl, Günter; Stam, Daphne; Tinetti, Giovanna; White, Glenn J

2010-01-01

The evolution of Earth-like habitable planets is a complex process that depends on the geodynamical and geophysical environments. In particular, it is necessary that plate tectonics remain active over billions of years. These geophysically active environments are strongly coupled to a planet's host star parameters, such as mass, luminosity and activity, orbit location of the habitable zone, and the planet's initial water inventory. Depending on the host star's radiation and particle flux evolution, the composition in the thermosphere, and the availability of an active magnetic dynamo, the atmospheres of Earth-like planets within their habitable zones are differently affected due to thermal and nonthermal escape processes. For some planets, strong atmospheric escape could even effect the stability of the atmosphere.

Validation of Small Kepler Transiting Planet Candidates in or near the Habitable Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Guillermo; Kane, Stephen R.; Rowe, Jason F.; Batalha, Natalie M.; Henze, Christopher E.; Ciardi, David R.; Barclay, Thomas; Borucki, William J.; Buchhave, Lars A.; Crepp, Justin R.; Everett, Mark E.; Horch, Elliott P.; Howard, Andrew W.; Howell, Steve B.; Isaacson, Howard T.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Latham, David W.; Petigura, Erik A.; Quintana, Elisa V.

2017-12-01

A main goal of NASA’s Kepler Mission is to establish the frequency of potentially habitable Earth-size planets ({η }\\oplus ). Relatively few such candidates identified by the mission can be confirmed to be rocky via dynamical measurement of their mass. Here we report an effort to validate 18 of them statistically using the BLENDER technique, by showing that the likelihood they are true planets is far greater than that of a false positive. Our analysis incorporates follow-up observations including high-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, high-resolution imaging, and information from the analysis of the flux centroids of the Kepler observations themselves. Although many of these candidates have been previously validated by others, the confidence levels reported typically ignore the possibility that the planet may transit a star different from the target along the same line of sight. If that were the case, a planet that appears small enough to be rocky may actually be considerably larger and therefore less interesting from the point of view of habitability. We take this into consideration here and are able to validate 15 of our candidates at a 99.73% (3σ) significance level or higher, and the other three at a slightly lower confidence. We characterize the GKM host stars using available ground-based observations and provide updated parameters for the planets, with sizes between 0.8 and 2.9 R ⊕. Seven of them (KOI-0438.02, 0463.01, 2418.01, 2626.01, 3282.01, 4036.01, and 5856.01) have a better than 50% chance of being smaller than 2 R ⊕ and being in the habitable zone of their host stars.

On the Detectability of Planet X with LSST

Science.gov (United States)

Trilling, David E.; Bellm, Eric C.; Malhotra, Renu

2018-06-01

Two planetary mass objects in the far outer solar system—collectively referred to here as Planet X— have recently been hypothesized to explain the orbital distribution of distant Kuiper Belt Objects. Neither planet is thought to be exceptionally faint, but the sky locations of these putative planets are poorly constrained. Therefore, a wide area survey is needed to detect these possible planets. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will carry out an unbiased, large area (around 18000 deg2), deep (limiting magnitude of individual frames of 24.5) survey (the “wide-fast-deep (WFD)” survey) of the southern sky beginning in 2022, and it will therefore be an important tool in searching for these hypothesized planets. Here, we explore the effectiveness of LSST as a search platform for these possible planets. Assuming the current baseline cadence (which includes the WFD survey plus additional coverage), we estimate that LSST will confidently detect or rule out the existence of Planet X in 61% of the entire sky. At orbital distances up to ∼75 au, Planet X could simply be found in the normal nightly moving object processing; at larger distances, it will require custom data processing. We also discuss the implications of a nondetection of Planet X in LSST data.

About the Linguistic Impossibility of Claiming that Small Planets are not Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Nedeljkovic, A. B.

2012-12-01

Philology, which is, the science of language and literature, must now offer assistance to the science of astronomy, about one question of terminology and logic. Namely, if something belongs to one category, then it is, regardless of its size (large, or medium, or small) a member of that category. Therefore, it was linguistically wrong to claim that Pluto is one of the dwarf planets and therefore not a planet. This mistake, much noticed by the world's public opinion, ought to be corrected immediately.

Extreme meteorological conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altinger de Schwarzkopf, M.L.

1983-01-01

Different meteorological variables which may reach significant extreme values, such as the windspeed and, in particular, its occurrence through tornadoes and hurricanes that necesarily incide and wich must be taken into account at the time of nuclear power plants' installation, are analyzed. For this kind of study, it is necessary to determine the basic phenomenum of design. Two criteria are applied to define the basic values of design for extreme meteorological variables. The first one determines the expected extreme value: it is obtained from analyzing the recurence of the phenomenum in a convened period of time, wich may be generally of 50 years. The second one determines the extreme value of low probability, taking into account the nuclear power plant's operating life -f.ex. 25 years- and considering, during said lapse, the occurrence probabilities of extreme meteorological phenomena. The values may be determined either by the deterministic method, which is based on the acknowledgement of the fundamental physical characteristics of the phenomena or by the probabilistic method, that aims to the analysis of historical statistical data. Brief comments are made on the subject in relation to the Argentine Republic area. (R.J.S.) [es

Masses, Radii, and Orbits of Small Kepler Planets: The Transition from Gaseous to Rocky Planets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marcy, G.W.; et al., [Unknown; Hekker, S.

2014-01-01

We report on the masses, sizes, and orbits of the planets orbiting 22 Kepler stars. There are 49 planet candidates around these stars, including 42 detected through transits and 7 revealed by precise Doppler measurements of the host stars. Based on an analysis of the Kepler brightness measurements,

Planet Hunters 2 in the K2 Era

Science.gov (United States)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Fischer, Debra; Boyajian, Tabetha S.; Giguere, Matthew J.; Ishikawa, Sascha; Lintott, Chris; Lynn, Stuart; Schmitt, Joseph; Snyder, Chris; Wang, Ji; Barclay, Thomas

2015-01-01

Planet Hunters (http://www.planethunters.org) is an online citizen science project enlisting hundreds of thousands of people to search for planet transits in the publicly released Kepler data. Volunteers mark the locations of visible transits in a web interface, with multiple independent classifiers reviewing a randomly selected ~30-day light curve segment. In September 2014, Planet Hunters entered a new phase. The project was relaunched with a brand new online classification interface and discussion tool built using the Zooniverse's (http://www.zooniverse.org) latest technology and web platform. The website has been optimized for the rapid discovery and identification of planet candidates in the light curves from K2, the two-wheeled ecliptic plane Kepler mission. We will give an overview of the new Planet Hunters classification interface and Round 2 review system in context of the K2 data. We will present the first results from the Planet Hunters 2 search of K2 Campaigns 0 and 1 including a summary of new planet candidates.

Ac hopping conduction at extreme disorder takes place on the percolating cluster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrøder, Thomas; Dyre, J. C.

2008-01-01

Simulations of the random barrier model show that ac currents at extreme disorder are carried almost entirely by the percolating cluster slightly above threshold; thus contributions from isolated low activation-energy clusters are negligible. The effective medium approximation in conjunction...

Observability of planet-disc interactions in CO kinematics

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Sebastián; Casassus, S.; Benítez-Llambay, P.

2018-06-01

Empirical evidence of planets in gas-rich circumstellar discs is required to constrain giant planet formation theories. Here we study the kinematic patterns which arise from planet-disc interactions and their observability in CO rotational emission lines. We perform three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of single giant planets, and predict the emergent intensity field with radiative transfer. Pressure gradients at planet-carved gaps, spiral wakes and vortices bear strong kinematic counterparts. The iso-velocity contours in the CO(2-1) line centroids vo reveal large-scale perturbations, corresponding to abrupt transitions from below sub-Keplerian to super-Keplerian rotation along with radial and vertical flows. The increase in line optical depth at the edge of the gap also modulates vo, but this is a mild effect compared to the dynamical imprint of the planet-disc interaction. The large-scale deviations from the Keplerian rotation thus allow the planets to be indirectly detected via the first moment maps of molecular gas tracers, at ALMA angular resolutions. The strength of these deviations depends on the mass of the perturber. This initial study paves the way to eventually determine the mass of the planet by comparison with more detailed models.

Radio images of the planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Pater, I.

1990-01-01

Observations at radio wavelengths make possible detailed studies of planetary atmospheres, magnetospheres, and surface layers. The paper addresses the question of what can be learned from interferometric radio images of planets. Results from single-element radio observations are also discussed. Observations of both the terrestrial and the giant planets are considered. 106 refs

PLANET TOPERS: Planets, Tracing the Transfer, Origin, Preservation, and Evolution of their ReservoirS.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehant, V; Asael, D; Baland, R M; Baludikay, B K; Beghin, J; Belza, J; Beuthe, M; Breuer, D; Chernonozhkin, S; Claeys, Ph; Cornet, Y; Cornet, L; Coyette, A; Debaille, V; Delvigne, C; Deproost, M H; De WInter, N; Duchemin, C; El Atrassi, F; François, C; De Keyser, J; Gillmann, C; Gloesener, E; Goderis, S; Hidaka, Y; Höning, D; Huber, M; Hublet, G; Javaux, E J; Karatekin, Ö; Kodolanyi, J; Revilla, L Lobo; Maes, L; Maggiolo, R; Mattielli, N; Maurice, M; McKibbin, S; Morschhauser, A; Neumann, W; Noack, L; Pham, L B S; Pittarello, L; Plesa, A C; Rivoldini, A; Robert, S; Rosenblatt, P; Spohn, T; Storme, J -Y; Tosi, N; Trinh, A; Valdes, M; Vandaele, A C; Vanhaecke, F; Van Hoolst, T; Van Roosbroek, N; Wilquet, V; Yseboodt, M

2016-11-01

The Interuniversity Attraction Pole (IAP) 'PLANET TOPERS' (Planets: Tracing the Transfer, Origin, Preservation, and Evolution of their Reservoirs) addresses the fundamental understanding of the thermal and compositional evolution of the different reservoirs of planetary bodies (core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and space) considering interactions and feedback mechanisms. Here we present the first results after 2 years of project work.

ATMOSPHERE AND SPECTRAL MODELS OF THE KEPLER-FIELD PLANETS HAT-P-7b AND TrES-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spiegel, David S.; Burrows, Adam

2010-01-01

We develop atmosphere models of two of the three Kepler-field planets that were known prior to the start of the Kepler mission (HAT-P-7b and TrES-2). We find that published Kepler and Spitzer data for HAT-P-7b appear to require an extremely hot upper atmosphere on the dayside, with a strong thermal inversion and little day-night redistribution. The Spitzer data for TrES-2 suggest a mild thermal inversion with moderate day-night redistribution. We examine the effect of nonequilibrium chemistry on TrES-2 model atmospheres and find that methane levels must be adjusted by extreme amounts in order to cause even mild changes in atmospheric structure and emergent spectra. Our best-fit models to the Spitzer data for TrES-2 lead us to predict a low secondary eclipse planet-star flux ratio (∼ -5 ) in the Kepler bandpass, which is consistent with what very recent observations have found. Finally, we consider how the Kepler-band optical flux from a hot exoplanet depends on the strength of a possible extra optical absorber in the upper atmosphere. We find that the optical flux is not monotonic in optical opacity, and the non-monotonicity is greater for brighter, hotter stars.

Decrease in Hysteresis of Planetary Climate for Planets with Long Solar Days

Science.gov (United States)

Abbot, Dorian S.; Bloch-Johnson, Jonah; Checlair, Jade; Farahat, Navah X.; Graham, R. J.; Plotkin, David; Popovic, Predrag; Spaulding-Astudillo, Francisco

2018-02-01

The ice-albedo feedback on rapidly rotating terrestrial planets in the habitable zone can lead to abrupt transitions (bifurcations) between a warm and a snowball (ice-covered) state, bistability between these states, and hysteresis in planetary climate. This is important for planetary habitability because snowball events may trigger rises in the complexity of life, but could also endanger complex life that already exists. Recent work has shown that planets tidally locked in synchronous rotation states will transition smoothly into the snowball state rather than experiencing bifurcations. Here we investigate the structure of snowball bifurcations on planets that are tidally influenced, but not synchronously rotating, so that they experience long solar days. We use PlaSIM, an intermediate-complexity global climate model, with a thermodynamic mixed layer ocean and the Sun’s spectrum. We find that the amount of hysteresis (the range in stellar flux for which there is bistability in climate) is significantly reduced for solar days with lengths of tens of Earth days, and disappears for solar days of hundreds of Earth days. These results suggest that tidally influenced planets orbiting M and K stars that are not synchronously rotating could have much less hysteresis associated with the snowball bifurcations than they would if they were rapidly rotating. This implies that the amount of time it takes them to escape a snowball state via CO2 outgassing would be greatly reduced, as would the period of cycling between the warm and snowball state if they have low CO2 outgassing rates.

Results from occultations by minor planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, G.E.

1982-01-01

Since the minor planets are believed to consist of primordial matter dating from the time of the formation of the solar system there is great interest in determining their composition. It is therefore necessary to calculate their densities, for which we need accurate masses and sizes. On the rare occasions when a minor planet occults a star, timed observations of the event from a number of observing sites enable an accurate size of the minor planet to be determined. (Auth.)

United theory of planet formation (i): Tandem regime

Science.gov (United States)

Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu; Imaeda, Yusuke

2017-07-01

The present paper is the first one of a series of papers that present the new united theory of planet formation, which includes magneto-rotational instability and porous aggregation of solid particles in an consistent way. We here describe the ;tandem; planet formation regime, in which a solar system like planetary systems are likely to be produced. We have obtained a steady-state, 1-D model of the accretion disk of a protostar taking into account the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) and and porous aggregation of solid particles. We find that the disk is divided into an outer turbulent region (OTR), a MRI suppressed region (MSR), and an inner turbulent region (ITR). The outer turbulent region is fully turbulent because of MRI. However, in the range, rout(= 8 - 60 AU) from the central star, MRI is suppressed around the midplane of the gas disk and a quiet area without turbulence appears, because the degree of ionization of gas becomes low enough. The disk becomes fully turbulent again in the range rin(= 0.2 - 1 AU), which is called the inner turbulent region, because the midplane temperature become high enough (>1000 K) due to gravitational energy release. Planetesimals are formed through gravitational instability at the outer and inner MRI fronts (the boundaries between the MRI suppressed region (MSR) and the outer and inner turbuent regions) without particle enhancement in the original nebula composition, because of the radial concentration of the solid particles. At the outer MRI front, icy particles grow through low-velocity collisions into porous aggregates with low densities (down to ∼10-5 gcm-3). They eventually undergo gravitational instability to form icy planetesimals. On the other hand, rocky particles accumulate at the inner MRI front, since their drift velocities turn outward due to the local maximum in gas pressure. They undergo gravitational instability in a sub-disk of pebbles to form rocky planetesimals at the inner MRI front. They are likely

Stochastic Extreme Load Predictions for Marine Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jørgen Juncher

1999-01-01

Development of rational design criteria for marine structures requires reliable estimates for the maximum wave-induced loads the structure may encounter during its operational lifetime. The paper discusses various methods for extreme value predictions taking into account the non-linearity of the ......Development of rational design criteria for marine structures requires reliable estimates for the maximum wave-induced loads the structure may encounter during its operational lifetime. The paper discusses various methods for extreme value predictions taking into account the non......-linearity of the waves and the response. As example the wave-induced bending moment in the ship hull girder is considered....

Modeling circumbinary planets: The case of Kepler-38

Science.gov (United States)

Kley, Wilhelm; Haghighipour, Nader

2014-04-01

Context. Recently, a number of planets orbiting binary stars have been discovered by the Kepler space telescope. In a few systems the planets reside close to the dynamical stability limit. Owing to the difficulty of forming planets in such close orbits, it is believed that they have formed farther out in the disk and migrated to their present locations. Aims: Our goal is to construct more realistic models of planet migration in circumbinary disks and to determine the final position of these planets more accurately. In our work, we focus on the system Kepler-38 where the planet is close to the stability limit. Methods: The evolution of the circumbinary disk is studied using two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. We study locally isothermal disks as well as more realistic models that include full viscous heating, radiative cooling from the disk surfaces, and radiative diffusion in the disk midplane. After the disk has been brought into a quasi-equilibrium state, a 115 Earth-mass planet is embedded and its evolution is followed. Results: In all cases the planets stop inward migration near the inner edge of the disk. In isothermal disks with a typical disk scale height of H/r = 0.05, the final outcome agrees very well with the observed location of planet Kepler-38b. For the radiative models, the disk thickness and location of the inner edge is determined by the mass in the system. For surface densities on the order of 3000 g/cm2 at 1 AU, the inner gap lies close to the binary and planets stop in the region between the 5:1 and 4:1 mean-motion resonances with the binary. A model with a disk with approximately a quarter of the mass yields a final position very close to the observed one. Conclusions: For planets migrating in circumbinary disks, the final position is dictated by the structure of the disk. Knowing the observed orbits of circumbinary planets, radiative disk simulations with embedded planets can provide important information on the physical state of the

The Use of Planisphere to Locate Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, Ping-Wai

2013-01-01

Planisphere is a simple and useful tool in locating constellations of the night sky at a specific time, date and geographic location. However it does not show the planet positions because planets are not fixed on the celestial sphere. It is known that the planet orbital planes are nearly coplanar and close to the ecliptic plane. By making…

ON THE RELATIVE SIZES OF PLANETS WITHIN KEPLER MULTIPLE-CANDIDATE SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciardi, David R.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Ford, Eric B.; Ragozzine, Darin; Gautier, T. N. III; Howell, Steve B.; Lissauer, Jack J.; Rowe, Jason F.

2013-01-01

We present a study of the relative sizes of planets within the multiple-candidate systems discovered with the Kepler mission. We have compared the size of each planet to the size of every other planet within a given planetary system after correcting the sample for detection and geometric biases. We find that for planet pairs for which one or both objects are approximately Neptune-sized or larger, the larger planet is most often the planet with the longer period. No such size-location correlation is seen for pairs of planets when both planets are smaller than Neptune. Specifically, if at least one planet in a planet pair has a radius of ∼> 3 R ⊕ , 68% ± 6% of the planet pairs have the inner planet smaller than the outer planet, while no preferred sequential ordering of the planets is observed if both planets in a pair are smaller than ∼ ⊕ .

High Ph, Ammonia Toxicity, and the Search for Life on the Jovian Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Deal, P. H.; Souza, K. A.; Mack, H. M.

1975-01-01

The effects of pH and ammonia concentration were studied separately, where possible, on a variety of organisms, including some isolated from natural environments of high pH and/or ammonia concentration. Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis are both extremely sensitive to ammonia. An aerobic organism (growth up to pH 11.4) from an alkaline spring is more resistant, but exhibits a toxic response to ammonia at a pH much lower than its maximum for growth. The greatest ammonia resistance has been found in an unidentified organism growing at near neutral pH. Even in this case, however, urvival at ammonia concentrations reasonably expected on the Jovian planets is measured in hours. This is two to three orders of magnitude longer than for E. coli. Results support the tentative conclusion that contamination of the Jovian planets with terrestrial organisms that can grow is unlikely. However, the range of toxic response noted, coupled with the observation that terrestrial life has not been exposed to high ammonia concentrations for millions of years, suggests that adaptation to greater ammonia tolerance may be possible.

From Disks to Planets: The Making of Planets and Their Early Atmospheres. An Introduction

Science.gov (United States)

Lammer, Helmut; Blanc, Michel

2018-03-01

This paper is an introduction to volume 56 of the Space Science Series of ISSI, "From disks to planets—the making of planets and their proto-atmospheres", a key subject in our quest for the origins and evolutionary paths of planets, and for the causes of their diversity. Indeed, as exoplanet discoveries progressively accumulated and their characterization made spectacular progress, it became evident that the diversity of observed exoplanets can in no way be reduced to the two classes of planets that we are used to identify in the solar system, namely terrestrial planets and gas or ice giants: the exoplanet reality is just much broader. This fact is no doubt the result of the exceptional diversity of the evolutionary paths linking planetary systems as a whole as well as individual exoplanets and their proto-atmospheres to their parent circumstellar disks: this diversity and its causes are exactly what this paper explores. For each of the main phases of the formation and evolution of planetary systems and of individual planets, we summarize what we believe we understand and what are the important open questions needing further in-depth examination, and offer some suggestions on ways towards solutions. We start with the formation mechanisms of circumstellar disks, with their gas and disk components in which chemical composition plays a very important role in planet formation. We summarize how dust accretion within the disk generates planet cores, while gas accretion on these cores can lead to the diversity of their fluid envelopes. The temporal evolution of the parent disk itself, and its final dissipation, put strong constraints on how and how far planetary formation can proceed. The radiation output of the central star also plays an important role in this whole story. This early phase of planet evolution, from disk formation to dissipation, is characterized by a co-evolution of the disk and its daughter planets. During this co-evolution, planets and their

First Light from Extrasolar Planets and Implications for Astrobiology

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, L. Jeremy; Seager, Sara; Harrington, Joseph; Deming, Drake

2005-01-01

The first light from an extrasolar planet was recently detected. These results, obtained for two transiting extrasolar planets at different infrared wavelengths, open a new era in the field of extrasolar planet detection and characterization because for the first time we can now detect planets beyond the solar system directly. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope at 24 microns, we observed the modulation of combined light (star plus planet) from the HD 209458 system as the planet disappeared behind the star during secondary eclipse and later re-emerged, thereby isolating the light from the planet. We obtained a planet-to-star ratio of 0.26% at 24 microns, corresponding to a brightness temperature of 1130 + / - 150 K. We will describe this result in detail, explain what it can tell us about the atmosphere of HD 209458 b, and discuss implications for the field of astrobiology. These results represent a significant step on the path to detecting terrestrial planets around other stars and in understanding their atmospheres in terms of composition and temperature.

Stellar oscillations in planet-hosting giant stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hatzes, Artie P; Zechmeister, Mathias [Thueringer Landessternwarte, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 (Germany)], E-mail: artie@tls-tautenburg.de

2008-10-15

Recently a number of giant extrasolar planets have been discovered around giant stars. These discoveries are important because many of these giant stars have intermediate masses in the range 1.2-3 Msun. Early-type main sequence stars of this mass range have been avoided by radial velocity planet search surveys due the difficulty of getting the requisite radial velocity precision needed for planet discoveries. Thus, giant stars can tell us about planet formation for stars more massive than the sun. However, the determination of stellar masses for giant stars is difficult due to the fact that evolutionary tracks for stars covering a wide range of masses converge to the same region of the H-R diagram. We report here on stellar oscillations in three planet-hosting giant stars: HD 13189, {beta} Gem, and {iota} Dra. Precise stellar radial velocity measurements for these stars show variations whose periods and amplitudes are consistent with solar-like p-mode oscillations. The implied stellar masses for these objects based on the characteristics of the stellar oscillations are consistent with the predictions of stellar isochrones. An investigation of stellar oscillations in planet hosting giant stars offers us the possibility of getting an independent determination of the stellar mass for these objects which is of crucial importance for extrasolar planet studies.

Comparative ionospheres: Terrestrial and giant planets

Science.gov (United States)

Mendillo, Michael; Trovato, Jeffrey; Moore, Luke; Müller-Wodarg, Ingo

2018-03-01

The study of planetary ionospheres within our solar system offers a variety of settings to probe mechanisms of photo-ionization, chemical loss, and plasma transport. Ionospheres are a minor component of upper atmospheres, and thus their mix of ions observed depends on the neutral gas composition of their parent atmospheres. The same solar irradiance (x-rays and extreme-ultra-violet vs. wavelength) impinges upon each of these atmospheres, with solar flux magnitudes changed only by the inverse square of distance from the Sun. If all planets had the same neutral atmosphere-with ionospheres governed by photochemical equilibrium (production = loss)-their peak electron densities would decrease as the inverse of distance from the Sun, and any changes in solar output would exhibit coherent effects throughout the solar system. Here we examine the outer planet with the most observations of its ionosphere (Saturn) and compare its patterns of electron density with those at Earth under the same-day solar conditions. We show that, while the average magnitudes of the major layers of molecular ions at Earth and Saturn are approximately in accord with distance effects, only minor correlations exist between solar effects and day-to-day electron densities. This is in marked contrast to the strong correlations found between the ionospheres of Earth and Mars. Moreover, the variability observed for Saturn's ionosphere (maximum electron density and total electron content) is much larger than found at Earth and Mars. With solar irradiance changes far too small to cause such effects, we use model results to explore the roles of other agents. We find that water sources from Enceladus at low latitudes, and 'ring rain' at middle latitudes, contribute substantially to variability via water ion chemistry. Thermospheric winds and electrodynamics generated at auroral latitudes are suggested causes of high latitude ionospheric variability, but remain inconclusive due to the lack of relevant

Reaching for the red planet

Science.gov (United States)

David, L

1996-05-01

The distant shores of Mars were reached by numerous U.S. and Russian spacecraft throughout the 1960s to mid 1970s. Nearly 20 years have passed since those successful missions which orbited and landed on the Martian surface. Two Soviet probes headed for the planet in July, 1988, but later failed. In August 1993, the U.S. Mars Observer suddenly went silent just three days before it was to enter orbit around the planet and was never heard from again. In late 1996, there will be renewed activity on the launch pads with three probes departing for the red planet: 1) The U.S. Mars Global Surveyor will be launched in November on a Delta II rocket and will orbit the planet for global mapping purposes; 2) Russia's Mars '96 mission, scheduled to fly in November on a Proton launcher, consists of an orbiter, two small stations which will land on the Martian surface, and two penetrators that will plow into the terrain; and finally, 3) a U.S. Discovery-class spacecraft, the Mars Pathfinder, has a December launch date atop a Delta II booster. The mission features a lander and a microrover that will travel short distances over Martian territory. These missions usher in a new phase of Mars exploration, setting the stage for an unprecedented volley of spacecraft that will orbit around, land on, drive across, and perhaps fly at low altitudes over the planet.

Probing Extragalactic Planets Using Quasar Microlensing

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Xinyu; Guerras, Eduardo

2018-02-01

Previously, planets have been detected only in the Milky Way galaxy. Here, we show that quasar microlensing provides a means to probe extragalactic planets in the lens galaxy, by studying the microlensing properties of emission close to the event horizon of the supermassive black hole of the background quasar, using the current generation telescopes. We show that a population of unbound planets between stars with masses ranging from Moon to Jupiter masses is needed to explain the frequent Fe Kα line energy shifts observed in the gravitationally lensed quasar RXJ 1131–1231 at a lens redshift of z = 0.295 or 3.8 billion lt-yr away. We constrain the planet mass-fraction to be larger than 0.0001 of the halo mass, which is equivalent to 2000 objects ranging from Moon to Jupiter mass per main-sequence star.

Survival of planets around shrinking stellar binaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Diego J; Lai, Dong

2015-07-28

The discovery of transiting circumbinary planets by the Kepler mission suggests that planets can form efficiently around binary stars. None of the stellar binaries currently known to host planets has a period shorter than 7 d, despite the large number of eclipsing binaries found in the Kepler target list with periods shorter than a few days. These compact binaries are believed to have evolved from wider orbits into their current configurations via the so-called Lidov-Kozai migration mechanism, in which gravitational perturbations from a distant tertiary companion induce large-amplitude eccentricity oscillations in the binary, followed by orbital decay and circularization due to tidal dissipation in the stars. Here we explore the orbital evolution of planets around binaries undergoing orbital decay by this mechanism. We show that planets may survive and become misaligned from their host binary, or may develop erratic behavior in eccentricity, resulting in their consumption by the stars or ejection from the system as the binary decays. Our results suggest that circumbinary planets around compact binaries could still exist, and we offer predictions as to what their orbital configurations should be like.

Properties of Planet-Forming Prostellar Disks

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom, David (Technical Monitor); Lubow, Stephen

2005-01-01

The proposal achieved many of its objectives. The main area of investigation was the interaction of young planets with surrounding protostellar disks. The grant funds were used to support visits by CoIs and visitors: Gordon Ogilvie, Gennaro D Angelo, and Matthew Bate. Funds were used for travel and partial salary support for Lubow. We made important progress in two areas described in the original proposal: secular resonances (Section 3) and nonlinear waves in three dimensions (Section 5). In addition, we investigated several new areas: planet migration, orbital distribution of planets, and noncoorbital corotation resonances.

The Fate of Exomoons when Planets Scatter

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-03-01

Four examples of close-encounter outcomes: a) the moon stays in orbit around its host, b) the moon is captured into orbit around its perturber, c) and d) the moon is ejected from the system from two different starting configurations. [Adapted from Hong et al. 2018]Planet interactions are thought to be common as solar systems are first forming and settling down. A new study suggests that these close encounters could have a significant impact on the moons of giant exoplanets and they may generate a large population of free-floating exomoons.Chaos in the SystemIn the planetplanet scattering model of solar-system formation, planets are thought to initially form in closely packed systems. Over time, planets in a system perturb each other, eventually entering an instability phase during which their orbits cross and the planets experience close encounters.During this scattering process, any exomoons that are orbiting giant planets can be knocked into unstable orbits directly by close encounters with perturbing planets. Exomoons can also be disturbed if their host planets properties or orbits change as a consequence of scattering.Led by Yu-Cian Hong (Cornell University), a team of scientists has now explored the fate of exomoons in planetplanet scattering situations using a suite of N-body numerical simulations.Chances for SurvivalHong and collaborators find that the vast majority roughly 80 to 90% of exomoons around giant planets are destabilized during scattering and dont survive in their original place in the solar system. Fates of these destabilized exomoons include:moon collision with the star or a planet,moon capture by the perturbing planet,moon ejection from the solar system,ejection of the entire planetmoon system from the solar system, andmoon perturbation onto a new heliocentric orbit as a planet.Unsurprisingly, exomoons that have close-in orbits and those that orbit larger planets are the most likely to survive close encounters; as an example, exomoons on

Planet-driven Spiral Arms in Protoplanetary Disks. II. Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Jaehan; Zhu, Zhaohuan

2018-06-01

We examine whether various characteristics of planet-driven spiral arms can be used to constrain the masses of unseen planets and their positions within their disks. By carrying out two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations varying planet mass and disk gas temperature, we find that a larger number of spiral arms form with a smaller planet mass and a lower disk temperature. A planet excites two or more spiral arms interior to its orbit for a range of disk temperatures characterized by the disk aspect ratio 0.04≤slant {(h/r)}p≤slant 0.15, whereas exterior to a planet’s orbit multiple spiral arms can form only in cold disks with {(h/r)}p≲ 0.06. Constraining the planet mass with the pitch angle of spiral arms requires accurate disk temperature measurements that might be challenging even with ALMA. However, the property that the pitch angle of planet-driven spiral arms decreases away from the planet can be a powerful diagnostic to determine whether the planet is located interior or exterior to the observed spirals. The arm-to-arm separations increase as a function of planet mass, consistent with previous studies; however, the exact slope depends on disk temperature as well as the radial location where the arm-to-arm separations are measured. We apply these diagnostics to the spiral arms seen in MWC 758 and Elias 2–27. As shown in Bae et al., planet-driven spiral arms can create concentric rings and gaps, which can produce a more dominant observable signature than spiral arms under certain circumstances. We discuss the observability of planet-driven spiral arms versus rings and gaps.

EFFECTS OF DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION OF GIANT PLANETS ON THE DELIVERY OF ATMOPHILE ELEMENTS DURING TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumura, Soko [School of Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics, University of Dundee, DD1 4HN, Scotland (United Kingdom); Brasser, Ramon; Ida, Shigeru, E-mail: s.matsumura@dundee.ac.uk [Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550 (Japan)

2016-02-10

Recent observations started revealing the compositions of protostellar disks and planets beyond the solar system. In this paper, we explore how the compositions of terrestrial planets are affected by the dynamical evolution of giant planets. We estimate the initial compositions of the building blocks of these rocky planets by using a simple condensation model, and numerically study the compositions of planets formed in a few different formation models of the solar system. We find that the abundances of refractory and moderately volatile elements are nearly independent of formation models, and that all the models could reproduce the abundances of these elements of the Earth. The abundances of atmophile elements, on the other hand, depend on the scattering rate of icy planetesimals into the inner disk, as well as the mixing rate of the inner planetesimal disk. For the classical formation model, neither of these mechanisms are efficient and the accretion of atmophile elements during the final assembly of terrestrial planets appears to be difficult. For the Grand Tack model, both of these mechanisms are efficient, which leads to a relatively uniform accretion of atmophile elements in the inner disk. It is also possible to have a “hybrid” scenario where the mixing is not very efficient but the scattering is efficient. The abundances of atmophile elements in this case increase with orbital radii. Such a scenario may occur in some of the extrasolar planetary systems, which are not accompanied by giant planets or those without strong perturbations from giants. We also confirm that the Grand Tack scenario leads to the distribution of asteroid analogues where rocky planetesimals tend to exist interior to icy ones, and show that their overall compositions are consistent with S-type and C-type chondrites, respectively.

EFFECTS OF DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION OF GIANT PLANETS ON THE DELIVERY OF ATMOPHILE ELEMENTS DURING TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumura, Soko; Brasser, Ramon; Ida, Shigeru

2016-01-01

Recent observations started revealing the compositions of protostellar disks and planets beyond the solar system. In this paper, we explore how the compositions of terrestrial planets are affected by the dynamical evolution of giant planets. We estimate the initial compositions of the building blocks of these rocky planets by using a simple condensation model, and numerically study the compositions of planets formed in a few different formation models of the solar system. We find that the abundances of refractory and moderately volatile elements are nearly independent of formation models, and that all the models could reproduce the abundances of these elements of the Earth. The abundances of atmophile elements, on the other hand, depend on the scattering rate of icy planetesimals into the inner disk, as well as the mixing rate of the inner planetesimal disk. For the classical formation model, neither of these mechanisms are efficient and the accretion of atmophile elements during the final assembly of terrestrial planets appears to be difficult. For the Grand Tack model, both of these mechanisms are efficient, which leads to a relatively uniform accretion of atmophile elements in the inner disk. It is also possible to have a “hybrid” scenario where the mixing is not very efficient but the scattering is efficient. The abundances of atmophile elements in this case increase with orbital radii. Such a scenario may occur in some of the extrasolar planetary systems, which are not accompanied by giant planets or those without strong perturbations from giants. We also confirm that the Grand Tack scenario leads to the distribution of asteroid analogues where rocky planetesimals tend to exist interior to icy ones, and show that their overall compositions are consistent with S-type and C-type chondrites, respectively

Extrasolar Planets Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy

CERN Document Server

Cassen, Patrick; Quirrenbach, Andreas

2006-01-01

Research on extrasolar planets is one of the most exciting fields of activity in astrophysics. In a decade only, a huge step forward has been made from the early speculations on the existence of planets orbiting "other stars" to the first discoveries and to the characterization of extrasolar planets. This breakthrough is the result of a growing interest of a large community of researchers as well as the development of a wide range of new observational techniques and facilities. Based on their lectures given at the 31st Saas-Fee Advanced Course, Andreas Quirrenbach, Tristan Guillot and Pat Cassen have written up up-to-date comprehensive lecture notes on the "Detection and Characterization of Extrasolar Planets", "Physics of Substellar Objects Interiors, Atmospheres, Evolution" and "Protostellar Disks and Planet Formation". This book will serve graduate students, lecturers and scientists entering the field of extrasolar planets as detailed and comprehensive introduction.

EXTRACTING PLANET MASS AND ECCENTRICITY FROM TTV DATA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lithwick, Yoram; Xie Jiwei; Wu Yanqin

2012-01-01

Most planet pairs in the Kepler data that have measured transit time variations (TTVs) are near first-order mean-motion resonances. We derive analytical formulae for their TTV signals. We separate planet eccentricity into free and forced parts, where the forced part is purely due to the planets' proximity to resonance. This separation yields simple analytical formulae. The phase of the TTV depends sensitively on the presence of free eccentricity: if the free eccentricity vanishes, the TTV will be in phase with the longitude of conjunctions. This effect is easily detectable in current TTV data. The amplitude of the TTV depends on planet mass and free eccentricity, and it determines planet mass uniquely only when the free eccentricity is sufficiently small. We analyze the TTV signals of six short-period Kepler pairs. We find that three of these pairs (Kepler 18, 24, 25) have a TTV phase consistent with zero. The other three (Kepler 23, 28, 32) have small TTV phases, but ones that are distinctly non-zero. We deduce that the free eccentricities of the planets are small, ∼< 0.01, but not always vanishing. Furthermore, as a consequence of this, we deduce that the true masses of the planets are fairly accurately determined by the TTV amplitudes, within a factor of ∼< 2. The smallness of the free eccentricities suggests that the planets have experienced substantial dissipation. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the observed pile-up of Kepler pairs near mean-motion resonances is caused by resonant repulsion. But the fact that some of the planets have non-vanishing free eccentricity suggests that after resonant repulsion occurred there was a subsequent phase in the planets' evolution when their eccentricities were modestly excited, perhaps by interplanetary interactions.

Magnetic fields in the solar system planets, moons and solar wind interactions

CERN Document Server

Wicht, Johannes; Gilder, Stuart; Holschneider, Matthias

2018-01-01

This book addresses and reviews many of the still little understood questions related to the processes underlying planetary magnetic fields and their interaction with the solar wind. With focus on research carried out within the German Priority Program ”PlanetMag”, it also provides an overview of the most recent research in the field. Magnetic fields play an important role in making a planet habitable by protecting the environment from the solar wind. Without the geomagnetic field, for example, life on Earth as we know it would not be possible. And results from recent space missions to Mars and Venus strongly indicate that planetary magnetic fields play a vital role in preventing atmospheric erosion by the solar wind. However, very little is known about the underlying interaction between the solar wind and a planet’s magnetic field. The book takes a synergistic interdisciplinary approach that combines newly developed tools for data acquisition and analysis, computer simulations of planetary interiors an...

Extrasolar Planets: Towards Comparative Planetology beyond the Solar System

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, A. H.

2012-09-01

Today Scenario planet logy is a very important concept because now days the scientific research finding new and new planets and our work's range becoming too long. In the previous study shows about 10-12 years the research of planet logy now has changed . Few years ago we was talking about Sun planet, Earth planet , Moon ,Mars Jupiter & Venus etc. included but now the time has totally changed the recent studies showed that mono lakes California find the arsenic food use by micro organism that show that our study is very tiny as compare to planet long areas .We have very well known that arsenic is the toxic agent's and the toxic agent's present in the lakes and micro organism developing and life going on it's a unbelievable point for us but nature always play a magical games. In few years ago Aliens was the story no one believe the Aliens origin but now the aliens showed catch by our space craft and shuttle and every one believe that Aliens origin but at the moment's I would like to mention one point's that we have too more work required because our planet logy has a vast field. Most of the time our scientific mission shows that this planet found liquid oxygen ,this planet found hydrogen .I would like to clear that point's that all planet logy depend in to the chemical and these chemical gave the indication of the life but we are not abele to developed the adaptation according to the micro organism . Planet logy compare before study shows that Sun it's a combination of the various gases combination surrounded in a round form and now the central Sun Planets ,moons ,comets and asteroids In other word we can say that Or Sun has a wide range of the physical and Chemical properties in the after the development we can say that all chemical and physical property engaged with a certain environment and form a various contains like asteroids, moon, Comets etc. Few studies shows that other planet life affected to the out living planet .We can assure with the example the life

No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Checlair, Jade; Menou, Kristen; Abbot, Dorian S.

2017-08-01

The TRAPPIST-1, Proxima Centauri, and LHS 1140 systems are the most exciting prospects for future follow-up observations of potentially inhabited planets. All of the planets orbit nearby M-stars and are likely tidally locked in 1:1 spin–orbit states, which motivates the consideration of the effects that tidal locking might have on planetary habitability. On Earth, periods of global glaciation (snowballs) may have been essential for habitability and remote signs of life (biosignatures) because they are correlated with increases in the complexity of life and in the atmospheric oxygen concentration. In this paper, we investigate the snowball bifurcation (sudden onset of global glaciation) on tidally locked planets using both an energy balance model and an intermediate-complexity global climate model. We show that tidally locked planets are unlikely to exhibit a snowball bifurcation as a direct result of the spatial pattern of insolation they receive. Instead, they will smoothly transition from partial to complete ice coverage and back. A major implication of this work is that tidally locked planets with an active carbon cycle should not be found in a snowball state. Moreover, this work implies that tidally locked planets near the outer edge of the habitable zone with low CO2 outgassing fluxes will equilibrate with a small unglaciated substellar region rather than cycling between warm and snowball states. More work is needed to determine how the lack of a snowball bifurcation might affect the development of life on a tidally locked planet.

No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Checlair, Jade; Abbot, Dorian S.; Menou, Kristen

2017-01-01

The TRAPPIST-1, Proxima Centauri, and LHS 1140 systems are the most exciting prospects for future follow-up observations of potentially inhabited planets. All of the planets orbit nearby M-stars and are likely tidally locked in 1:1 spin–orbit states, which motivates the consideration of the effects that tidal locking might have on planetary habitability. On Earth, periods of global glaciation (snowballs) may have been essential for habitability and remote signs of life (biosignatures) because they are correlated with increases in the complexity of life and in the atmospheric oxygen concentration. In this paper, we investigate the snowball bifurcation (sudden onset of global glaciation) on tidally locked planets using both an energy balance model and an intermediate-complexity global climate model. We show that tidally locked planets are unlikely to exhibit a snowball bifurcation as a direct result of the spatial pattern of insolation they receive. Instead, they will smoothly transition from partial to complete ice coverage and back. A major implication of this work is that tidally locked planets with an active carbon cycle should not be found in a snowball state. Moreover, this work implies that tidally locked planets near the outer edge of the habitable zone with low CO 2 outgassing fluxes will equilibrate with a small unglaciated substellar region rather than cycling between warm and snowball states. More work is needed to determine how the lack of a snowball bifurcation might affect the development of life on a tidally locked planet.

ANISOTROPIC WINDS FROM CLOSE-IN EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stone, James M.; Proga, Daniel

2009-01-01

We present two-dimensional hydrodynamic models of thermally driven winds from highly irradiated, close-in extrasolar planets. We adopt a very simple treatment of the radiative heating processes at the base of the wind, and instead focus on the differences between the properties of outflows in multidimensions in comparison to spherically symmetric models computed with the same methods. For hot (T ∼> 2 x 10 4 K) or highly ionized gas, we find that strong (supersonic) polar flows are formed above the planet surface which produce weak shocks and outflow on the night side. In comparison to a spherically symmetric wind with the same parameters, the sonic surface on the day side is much closer to the planet surface in multidimensions, and the total mass-loss rate is reduced by almost a factor of 4. We also compute the steady-state structure of interacting planetary and stellar winds. Both winds end in a termination shock, with a parabolic contact discontinuity which is draped over the planet separating the two shocked winds. The planetary wind termination shock and the sonic surface in the wind are well separated, so that the mass-loss rate from the planet is essentially unaffected. However, the confinement of the planetary wind to the small volume bounded by the contact discontinuity greatly enhances the column density close to the planet, which might be important for the interpretation of observations of absorption lines formed by gas surrounding transiting planets.

Capture of free-floating planets by planetary systems

Science.gov (United States)

Goulinski, Nadav; Ribak, Erez N.

2018-01-01

Evidence of exoplanets with orbits that are misaligned with the spin of the host star may suggest that not all bound planets were born in the protoplanetary disc of their current planetary system. Observations have shown that free-floating Jupiter-mass objects can exceed the number of stars in our Galaxy, implying that capture scenarios may not be so rare. To address this issue, we construct a three-dimensional simulation of a three-body scattering between a free-floating planet and a star accompanied by a Jupiter-mass bound planet. We distinguish between three different possible scattering outcomes, where the free-floating planet may get weakly captured after the brief interaction with the binary, remain unbound or 'kick out' the bound planet and replace it. The simulation was performed for different masses of the free-floating planets and stars, as well as different impact parameters, inclination angles and approach velocities. The outcome statistics are used to construct an analytical approximation of the cross-section for capturing a free-floating planet by fitting their dependence on the tested variables. The analytically approximated cross-section is used to predict the capture rate for these kinds of objects, and to estimate that about 1 per cent of all stars are expected to experience a temporary capture of a free-floating planet during their lifetime. Finally, we propose additional physical processes that may increase the capture statistics and whose contribution should be considered in future simulations in order to determine the fate of the temporarily captured planets.

Extrasolar planets : - From gaseous giant planets to rocky planets. - Steps towards the detection of life biomarkers.

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2017-01-01

Today, great efforts are made to detect Earth-mass rocky planets in the so-called habitable zone of their host stars. What are the difficulties, the instrumental projects  and the already detected interesting systems ?

Outward Migration of Giant Planets in Orbital Resonance

Science.gov (United States)

D'Angelo, G.; Marzari, F.

2013-05-01

A pair of giant planets interacting with a gaseous disk may be subject to convergent orbital migration and become locked into a mean motion resonance. If the orbits are close enough, the tidal gaps produced by the planets in the disk may overlap. This represents a necessary condition to activate the outward migration of the pair. However, a number of other conditions must also be realized in order for this mechanism to operate. We have studied how disk properties, such as turbulence viscosity, temperature, surface density gradient, mass, and age, may affect the outcome of the outward migration process. We have also investigated the implications on this mechanism of the planets' gas accretion. If the pair resembles Jupiter and Saturn, the 3:2 orbital resonance may drive them outward until they reach stalling radii for migration, which are within ~10 AU of the star for disks representative of the early proto-solar nebula. However, planet post-formation conditions in the disk indicate that such planets become typically locked in the 1:2 orbital resonance, which does not lead to outward migration. Planet growth via gas accretion tends to alter the planets' mass-ratio and/or the disk accretion rate toward the star, reducing or inhibiting outward migration. Support from NASA Outer Planets Research Program and NASA Origins of Solar Systems Program is gratefully acknowledged.

The metallicities of stars with and without transiting planets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchhave, Lars A.; Latham, David W.

2015-01-01

Host star metallicities have been used to infer observational constraints on planet formation throughout the history of the exoplanet field. The giant planet metallicity correlation has now been widely accepted, but questions remain as to whether the metallicity correlation extends to the small...... terrestrial-sized planets. Here, we report metallicities for a sample of 518 stars in the Kepler field that have no detected transiting planets and compare their metallicity distribution to a sample of stars that hosts small planets (). Importantly, both samples have been analyzed in a homogeneous manner...... using the same set of tools (Stellar Parameters Classification tool). We find the average metallicity of the sample of stars without detected transiting planets to be and the sample of stars hosting small planets to be . The average metallicities of the two samples are indistinguishable within...

How to Directly Image a Habitable Planet Around Alpha Centauri with a 30-45 cm Space Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Belikov, Ruslan; Bendek, Eduardo; Thomas, Sandrine; Males, Jared

2015-01-01

Several mission concepts are being studied to directly image planets around nearby stars. It is commonly thought that directly imaging a potentially habitable exoplanet around a Sun-like star requires space telescopes with apertures of at least 1m. A notable exception to this is Alpha Centauri (A and B), which is an extreme outlier among FGKM stars in terms of apparent habitable zone size: the habitable zones are approximately 3x wider in apparent size than around any other FGKM star. This enables a approximately 30-45cm visible light space telescope equipped with a modern high performance coronagraph or star shade to resolve the habitable zone at high contrast and directly image any potentially habitable planet that may exist in the system. The raw contrast requirements for such an instrument can be relaxed to 1e-8 if the mission spends 2 years collecting tens of thousands of images on the same target, enabling a factor of 500-1000 speckle suppression in post processing using a new technique called Orbital Difference Imaging (ODI). The raw light leak from both stars is controllable with a special wave front control algorithm known as Multi-Star Wave front Control (MSWC), which independently suppresses diffraction and aberrations from both stars using independent modes on the deformable mirror. This paper will present an analysis of the challenges involved with direct imaging of Alpha Centauri with a small telescope and how the above technologies are used together to solve them. We also show an example of a small coronagraphic mission concepts to take advantage of this opportunity called "ACESat: Alpha Centauri Exoplanet Satellite" submitted to NASA's small Explorer (SMEX) program in December of 2014.

DYNAMICS OF TIDALLY CAPTURED PLANETS IN THE GALACTIC CENTER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trani, Alessandro A.; Bressan, Alessandro; Mapelli, Michela; Spera, Mario

2016-01-01

Recent observations suggest ongoing planet formation in the innermost parsec of the Galactic center. The supermassive black hole (SMBH) might strip planets or planetary embryos from their parent star, bringing them close enough to be tidally disrupted. Photoevaporation by the ultraviolet field of young stars, combined with ongoing tidal disruption, could enhance the near-infrared luminosity of such starless planets, making their detection possible even with current facilities. In this paper, we investigate the chance of planet tidal captures by means of high-accuracy N -body simulations exploiting Mikkola's algorithmic regularization. We consider both planets lying in the clockwise (CW) disk and planets initially bound to the S-stars. We show that tidally captured planets remain on orbits close to those of their parent star. Moreover, the semimajor axis of the planetary orbit can be predicted by simple analytic assumptions in the case of prograde orbits. We find that starless planets that were initially bound to CW disk stars have mild eccentricities and tend to remain in the CW disk. However, we speculate that angular momentum diffusion and scattering by other young stars in the CW disk might bring starless planets into orbits with low angular momentum. In contrast, planets initially bound to S-stars are captured by the SMBH on highly eccentric orbits, matching the orbital properties of the clouds G1 and G2. Our predictions apply not only to planets but also to low-mass stars initially bound to the S-stars and tidally captured by the SMBH.

The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Macintosh, Bruce

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a next-generation coronagraph constructed for the Gemini Observatory. GPI will see first light this fall. It will be the most advanced planet-imaging system in operation - an order of magnitude more sensitive than any current instrument, capable of detecting and spectroscopically characterizing young Jovian planets 107 times fainter than their parent star at separations of 0.2 arcseconds. GPI was built from the beginning as a facility-class survey instrument, and the observatory will employ it that way. Our team has been selected by Gemini Observatory to carry out an 890-hour program - the GPI Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) campaign from 2014-2017. We will observe 600 stars spanning spectral types A-M. We will use published young association catalogs and a proprietary list in preparation that adds several hundred new young (pc) and adolescent (pc) stars. The range of separations studied by GPI is completely inaccessible to Doppler and transit techniques (even with Kepler or TESS)— GPI offers a new window into planet formation. We will use GPI to produce the first-ever robust census of giant planet populations in the 5-50 AU range, allowing us to: 1) illuminate the formation pathways of Jovian planets; 2) reconstruct the early dynamical evolution of systems, including migration mechanisms and the interaction with disks and belts of debris; and 3) bridge the gap between Jupiter and the brown dwarfs with the first examples of cool low- gravity planetary atmospheres. Simulations predict this survey will discover approximately 50 exoplanets, increasing the number of exoplanet images by an order of magnitude, enough for statistical investigation. This Origins of Solar Systems proposal will support the execution of the GPI Exoplanet Survey campaign. We will develop tools needed to execute the survey efficiently. We will refine the existing GPI data pipeline to a final version that robustly removes residual speckle artifacts and provides

Extrasolar Planets Observed with JWST and the ELTs

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, L. Drake

2010-01-01

The advent of cryogenic space-borne infrared observatories such as the Spitzer Space Telescope has lead to a revolution in the study of planets and planetary systems orbiting sun-like stars. Already Spitzer has characterized the emergent infrared spectra of close-in giant exoplanets using transit and eclipse techniques. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be able to extend these studies to superEarth exoplanets orbiting in the habitable zones of M-dwarf stars in the near solar neighborhood. The forthcoming ground-based Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) will playa key role in these studies, being especially valuable for spectroscopy at higher spectral resolving powers where large photon fluxes are needed. The culmination of this work within the next two decades will be the detection and spectral characterization of the major molecular constituents in the atmosphere of a habitable superEarth orbiting a nearby lower main sequence star.

Thermal escape from extrasolar giant planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Koskinen, Tommi T; Lavvas, Panayotis; Harris, Matthew J; Yelle, Roger V

2014-04-28

The detection of hot atomic hydrogen and heavy atoms and ions at high altitudes around close-in extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) such as HD209458b implies that these planets have hot and rapidly escaping atmospheres that extend to several planetary radii. These characteristics, however, cannot be generalized to all close-in EGPs. The thermal escape mechanism and mass loss rate from EGPs depend on a complex interplay between photochemistry and radiative transfer driven by the stellar UV radiation. In this study, we explore how these processes change under different levels of irradiation on giant planets with different characteristics. We confirm that there are two distinct regimes of thermal escape from EGPs, and that the transition between these regimes is relatively sharp. Our results have implications for thermal mass loss rates from different EGPs that we discuss in the context of currently known planets and the detectability of their upper atmospheres.

MULTIPLE-PLANET SCATTERING AND THE ORIGIN OF HOT JUPITERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaugé, C.; Nesvorný, D.

2012-01-01

Doppler and transit observations of exoplanets show a pile-up of Jupiter-size planets in orbits with a 3 day period. A fraction of these hot Jupiters have retrograde orbits with respect to the parent star's rotation, as evidenced by the measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. To explain these observations we performed a series of numerical integrations of planet scattering followed by the tidal circularization and migration of planets that evolved into highly eccentric orbits. We considered planetary systems having three and four planets initially placed in successive mean-motion resonances, although the angles were taken randomly to ensure orbital instability in short timescales. The simulations included the tidal and relativistic effects, and precession due to stellar oblateness. Our results show the formation of two distinct populations of hot Jupiters. The inner population (Population I) is characterized by semimajor axis a 1 Gyr and fits nicely the observed 3 day pile-up. A comparison between our three-planet and four-planet runs shows that the formation of hot Jupiters is more likely in systems with more initial planets. Due to the large-scale chaoticity that dominates the evolution, high eccentricities and/or high inclinations are generated mainly by close encounters between the planets and not by secular perturbations (Kozai or otherwise). The relative proportion of retrograde planets seems of be dependent on the stellar age. Both the distribution of almost aligned systems and the simulated 3 day pile-up also fit observations better in our four-planet simulations. This may suggest that the planetary systems with observed hot Jupiters were originally rich in the number of planets, some of which were ejected. In a broad perspective, our work therefore hints on an unexpected link between the hot Jupiters and recently discovered free floating planets.

Prevalence of Earth-size planets orbiting Sun-like stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Petigura, Erik A; Howard, Andrew W; Marcy, Geoffrey W

2013-11-26

Determining whether Earth-like planets are common or rare looms as a touchstone in the question of life in the universe. We searched for Earth-size planets that cross in front of their host stars by examining the brightness measurements of 42,000 stars from National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Kepler mission. We found 603 planets, including 10 that are Earth size ( ) and receive comparable levels of stellar energy to that of Earth (1 - 2 R[Symbol: see text] ). We account for Kepler's imperfect detectability of such planets by injecting synthetic planet-caused dimmings into the Kepler brightness measurements and recording the fraction detected. We find that 11 ± 4% of Sun-like stars harbor an Earth-size planet receiving between one and four times the stellar intensity as Earth. We also find that the occurrence of Earth-size planets is constant with increasing orbital period (P), within equal intervals of logP up to ~200 d. Extrapolating, one finds 5.7(-2.2)(+1.7)% of Sun-like stars harbor an Earth-size planet with orbital periods of 200-400 d.

Absence of a Metallicity Effect for Ultra-short-period Planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winn, Joshua N.; Sanchis-Ojeda, Roberto; Isaacson, Howard; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Rogers, Leslie; Petigura, Erik A.; Howard, Andrew W.; Schlaufman, Kevin C.; Cargile, Phillip; Hebb, Leslie

2017-01-01

Ultra-short-period (USP) planets are a newly recognized class of planets with periods shorter than one day and radii smaller than about 2  R ⊕ . It has been proposed that USP planets are the solid cores of hot Jupiters that have lost their gaseous envelopes due to photo-evaporation or Roche lobe overflow. We test this hypothesis by asking whether USP planets are associated with metal-rich stars, as has long been observed for hot Jupiters. We find the metallicity distributions of USP-planet and hot-Jupiter hosts to be significantly different ( p = 3 × 10 −4 ) based on Keck spectroscopy of Kepler stars. Evidently, the sample of USP planets is not dominated by the evaporated cores of hot Jupiters. The metallicity distribution of stars with USP planets is indistinguishable from that of stars with short-period planets with sizes between 2 and 4  R ⊕ . Thus, it remains possible that the USP planets are the solid cores of formerly gaseous planets that are smaller than Neptune.

Absence of a Metallicity Effect for Ultra-short-period Planets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winn, Joshua N. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Sanchis-Ojeda, Roberto; Isaacson, Howard; Marcy, Geoffrey W. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Rogers, Leslie [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Petigura, Erik A.; Howard, Andrew W. [Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Schlaufman, Kevin C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Cargile, Phillip [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Hebb, Leslie [Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY 14456 (United States)

2017-08-01

Ultra-short-period (USP) planets are a newly recognized class of planets with periods shorter than one day and radii smaller than about 2  R {sub ⊕}. It has been proposed that USP planets are the solid cores of hot Jupiters that have lost their gaseous envelopes due to photo-evaporation or Roche lobe overflow. We test this hypothesis by asking whether USP planets are associated with metal-rich stars, as has long been observed for hot Jupiters. We find the metallicity distributions of USP-planet and hot-Jupiter hosts to be significantly different ( p = 3 × 10{sup −4}) based on Keck spectroscopy of Kepler stars. Evidently, the sample of USP planets is not dominated by the evaporated cores of hot Jupiters. The metallicity distribution of stars with USP planets is indistinguishable from that of stars with short-period planets with sizes between 2 and 4  R {sub ⊕}. Thus, it remains possible that the USP planets are the solid cores of formerly gaseous planets that are smaller than Neptune.

Giant planet population synthesis: comparing theory with observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benz, W; Mordasini, C; Alibert, Y; Naef, D

2008-01-01

The characteristics of the now over 250 known extra-solar giant planets begin to provide a database with which current planet formation theories can be put to the test. To do this, we synthesize the expected planet population based on the core-accretion scenario by sampling initial conditions in a Monte Carlo fashion. We then apply appropriate observational detection biases and compare the resulting population with the one actually detected. Quantitative statistical tests allow us to determine how well the models are reproducing the observed samples. The model can be applied to compute the expected planet population detectable with different techniques (radial velocity measurements, transits, gravitational lensing, etc) or orbiting stars of different masses. In the latter case, we show that forming Jupiter-mass planets orbiting M dwarfs within the lifetime of proto-planetary disks is indeed possible. However, the models predict that with decreasing stellar mass, the ratio of Jupiter- to Neptune-mass planets will sharply decrease

Giant planet population synthesis: comparing theory with observations

Science.gov (United States)

Benz, W.; Mordasini, C.; Alibert, Y.; Naef, D.

2008-08-01

The characteristics of the now over 250 known extra-solar giant planets begin to provide a database with which current planet formation theories can be put to the test. To do this, we synthesize the expected planet population based on the core-accretion scenario by sampling initial conditions in a Monte Carlo fashion. We then apply appropriate observational detection biases and compare the resulting population with the one actually detected. Quantitative statistical tests allow us to determine how well the models are reproducing the observed samples. The model can be applied to compute the expected planet population detectable with different techniques (radial velocity measurements, transits, gravitational lensing, etc) or orbiting stars of different masses. In the latter case, we show that forming Jupiter-mass planets orbiting M dwarfs within the lifetime of proto-planetary disks is indeed possible. However, the models predict that with decreasing stellar mass, the ratio of Jupiter- to Neptune-mass planets will sharply decrease.

Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Mackwell, Stephen J.; Simon-Miller, Amy A.; Harder, Jerald W.; Bullock, Mark A.

Public awareness of climate change on Earth is currently very high, promoting significant interest in atmospheric processes. We are fortunate to live in an era where it is possible to study the climates of many planets, including our own, using spacecraft and groundbased observations as well as advanced computational power that allows detailed modeling. Planetary atmospheric dynamics and structure are all governed by the same basic physics. Thus differences in the input variables (such as composition, internal structure, and solar radiation) among the known planets provide a broad suite of natural laboratory settings for gaining new understanding of these physical processes and their outcomes. Diverse planetary settings provide insightful comparisons to atmospheric processes and feedbacks on Earth, allowing a greater understanding of the driving forces and external influences on our own planetary climate. They also inform us in our search for habitable environments on planets orbiting distant stars, a topic that was a focus of Exoplanets, the preceding book in the University of Arizona Press Space Sciences Series. Quite naturally, and perhaps inevitably, our fascination with climate is largely driven toward investigating the interplay between the early development of life and the presence of a suitable planetary climate. Our understanding of how habitable planets come to be begins with the worlds closest to home. Venus, Earth, and Mars differ only modestly in their mass and distance from the Sun, yet their current climates could scarcely be more divergent. Our purpose for this book is to set forth the foundations for this emerging science and to bring to the forefront our current understanding of atmospheric formation and climate evolution. Although there is significant comparison to be made to atmospheric processes on nonterrestrial planets in our solar system — the gas and ice giants — here we focus on the terrestrial planets, leaving even broader comparisons

Characterization of extra-solar planets with direct-imaging techniques

OpenAIRE

Tinetti, G.; Cash, W.; Glassman, T.; Keller, C.U.; Oakley, P.; Snik, F.; Stam, D.; Turnbull, M.

2009-01-01

In order to characterize the physical properties of an extra-solar planet one needs to detect planetary radiation, either visible (VIS) to near-infrared (NIR) reflected starlight or infrared (IR) thermal radiation. Both the reflected and thermal flux depend on the size of the planet, the distance between the planet and the star, the distance between the observer and the planet, and the planet’s phase angle (i.e. the angle between the star and the observer as seen from the planet). Moreover, t...

THE COMPOSITIONAL DIVERSITY OF EXTRASOLAR TERRESTRIAL PLANETS. II. MIGRATION SIMULATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter-Bond, Jade C.; O'Brien, David P.; Raymond, Sean N.

2012-01-01

Prior work has found that a variety of terrestrial planetary compositions are expected to occur within known extrasolar planetary systems. However, such studies ignored the effects of giant planet migration, which is thought to be very common in extrasolar systems. Here we present calculations of the compositions of terrestrial planets that formed in dynamical simulations incorporating varying degrees of giant planet migration. We used chemical equilibrium models of the solid material present in the disks of five known planetary host stars: the Sun, GJ 777, HD4203, HD19994, and HD213240. Giant planet migration has a strong effect on the compositions of simulated terrestrial planets as the migration results in large-scale mixing between terrestrial planet building blocks that condensed at a range of temperatures. This mixing acts to (1) increase the typical abundance of Mg-rich silicates in the terrestrial planets' feeding zones and thus increase the frequency of planets with Earth-like compositions compared with simulations with static giant planet orbits, and (2) drastically increase the efficiency of the delivery of hydrous phases (water and serpentine) to terrestrial planets and thus produce waterworlds and/or wet Earths. Our results demonstrate that although a wide variety of terrestrial planet compositions can still be produced, planets with Earth-like compositions should be common within extrasolar planetary systems.

Two Earth-sized planets orbiting Kepler-20.

Science.gov (United States)

Fressin, Francois; Torres, Guillermo; Rowe, Jason F; Charbonneau, David; Rogers, Leslie A; Ballard, Sarah; Batalha, Natalie M; Borucki, William J; Bryson, Stephen T; Buchhave, Lars A; Ciardi, David R; Désert, Jean-Michel; Dressing, Courtney D; Fabrycky, Daniel C; Ford, Eric B; Gautier, Thomas N; Henze, Christopher E; Holman, Matthew J; Howard, Andrew; Howell, Steve B; Jenkins, Jon M; Koch, David G; Latham, David W; Lissauer, Jack J; Marcy, Geoffrey W; Quinn, Samuel N; Ragozzine, Darin; Sasselov, Dimitar D; Seager, Sara; Barclay, Thomas; Mullally, Fergal; Seader, Shawn E; Still, Martin; Twicken, Joseph D; Thompson, Susan E; Uddin, Kamal

2011-12-20

Since the discovery of the first extrasolar giant planets around Sun-like stars, evolving observational capabilities have brought us closer to the detection of true Earth analogues. The size of an exoplanet can be determined when it periodically passes in front of (transits) its parent star, causing a decrease in starlight proportional to its radius. The smallest exoplanet hitherto discovered has a radius 1.42 times that of the Earth's radius (R(⊕)), and hence has 2.9 times its volume. Here we report the discovery of two planets, one Earth-sized (1.03R(⊕)) and the other smaller than the Earth (0.87R(⊕)), orbiting the star Kepler-20, which is already known to host three other, larger, transiting planets. The gravitational pull of the new planets on the parent star is too small to measure with current instrumentation. We apply a statistical method to show that the likelihood of the planetary interpretation of the transit signals is more than three orders of magnitude larger than that of the alternative hypothesis that the signals result from an eclipsing binary star. Theoretical considerations imply that these planets are rocky, with a composition of iron and silicate. The outer planet could have developed a thick water vapour atmosphere.

Using Schumann Resonance Measurements for Constraining the Water Abundance on the Giant Planets - Implications for the Solar System Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Simoes, Fernando; Pfaff, Robert; Hamelin, Michel; Klenzing, Jeffrey; Freudenreich, Henry; Beghin, Christian; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques; Bromund, Kenneth; Grard, Rejean; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre;

The Star–Planet Connection. I. Using Stellar Composition to Observationally Constrain Planetary Mineralogy for the 10 Closest Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Hinkel, Natalie R.; Unterborn, Cayman T.

2018-01-01

The compositions of stars and planets are connected, but the definition of “habitability” and the “habitable zone” only take into account the physical relationship between the star and planet. Planets, however, are made truly habitable by both chemical and physical processes that regulate climatic and geochemical cycling between atmosphere, surface, and interior reservoirs. Despite this, an “Earth-like” planet is often defined as a planet made of a mixture of rock and Fe that is roughly 1 Earth-density. To understand the interior of a terrestrial planet, the stellar abundances of planet-building elements (e.g., Mg, Si, and Fe) can be used as a proxy for the planet’s composition. We explore the planetary mineralogy and structure for fictive planets around the 10 stars closest to the Sun using stellar abundances from the Hypatia Catalog. Although our sample contains stars that are both sub- and super-solar in their abundances, we find that the mineralogies are very similar for all 10 planets—since the error or spread in the stellar abundances create significant degeneracy in the models. We show that abundance uncertainties need to be on the order of [Fe/H] < 0.02 dex, [Si/H] < 0.01 dex, [Al/H] < 0.002 dex, while [Mg/H] and [Ca/H] < 0.001 dex in order to distinguish two unique planetary populations in our sample of 10 stars. While these precisions are high, we believe that they are possible given certain abundance techniques, in addition to methodological transparency, that have recently been demonstrated in the literature. However, without these precisions, the uncertainty in planetary structures will be so high that we will be unable to confidently state that a planet is like the Earth, or unlike anything we have ever seen. We made some cuts and ruled out a number of stars, but these 10 are still rather nearby.

CoRoT’s first seven planets: An overview*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barge P.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The up to 150 day uninterrupted high-precision photometry of about 100000 stars – provided so far by the exoplanet channel of the CoRoT space telescope – gave a new perspective on the planet population of our galactic neighbourhood. The seven planets with very accurate parameters widen the range of known planet properties in almost any respect. Giant planets have been detected at low metallicity, rapidly rotating and active, spotted stars. CoRoT-3 populated the brown dwarf desert and closed the gap of measured physical properties between standard giant planets and very low mass stars. CoRoT extended the known range of planet masses down-to 5 Earth masses and up to 21 Jupiter masses, the radii to less than 2 Earth radii and up to the most inflated hot Jupiter found so far, and the periods of planets discovered by transits to 9 days. Two CoRoT planets have host stars with the lowest content of heavy elements known to show a transit hinting towards a different planet-host-star-metallicity relation then the one found by radial-velocity search programs. Finally the properties of the CoRoT-7b prove that terrestrial planets with a density close to Earth exist outside the Solar System. The detection of the secondary transit of CoRoT-1 at the 10−5-level and the very clear detection of the 1.7 Earth radii of CoRoT-7b at 3.5 10−4 relative flux are promising evidence of CoRoT being able to detect even smaller, Earth sized planets.

Planet Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Afonso, Isabel

2014-05-01

A more adequate name for Planet Earth could be Planet Ocean, seeing that ocean water covers more than seventy percent of the planet's surface and plays a fundamental role in the survival of almost all living species. Actually, oceans are aqueous solutions of extraordinary importance due to its direct implications in the current living conditions of our planet and its potential role on the continuity of life as well, as long as we know how to respect the limits of its immense but finite capacities. We may therefore state that natural aqueous solutions are excellent contexts for the approach and further understanding of many important chemical concepts, whether they be of chemical equilibrium, acid-base reactions, solubility and oxidation-reduction reactions. The topic of the 2014 edition of GIFT ('Our Changing Planet') will explore some of the recent complex changes of our environment, subjects that have been lately included in Chemistry teaching programs. This is particularly relevant on high school programs, with themes such as 'Earth Atmosphere: radiation, matter and structure', 'From Atmosphere to the Ocean: solutions on Earth and to Earth', 'Spring Waters and Public Water Supply: Water acidity and alkalinity'. These are the subjects that I want to develop on my school project with my pupils. Geographically, our school is located near the sea in a region where a stream flows into the sea. Besides that, our school water comes from a borehole which shows that the quality of the water we use is of significant importance. This project will establish and implement several procedures that, supported by physical and chemical analysis, will monitor the quality of water - not only the water used in our school, but also the surrounding waters (stream and beach water). The samples will be collected in the borehole of the school, in the stream near the school and in the beach of Carcavelos. Several physical-chemical characteristics related to the quality of the water will

Gravitational mechanism of active life of the Earth, planets and satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Barkin, Yury

2010-05-01

; orderliness in an distribution of geological formations on the Earth, planets and satellites; existence of antipodal formations on planets and satellites; the phenomenon of twisting of hemispheres of bodies of solar system, twisting of layers and latitudinal zones of shells of celestial bodies including inner layers and shells, etc. All the specified phenomena from the resulted list to some extent are discussed in the given work and illustrated on the basis of modern researches in Earth's sciences and the researches executed by means of space missions. In a complex, the executed researches have shown universality of discussed mechanisms and their important role in dynamics and geoevolution of planets and satellites in other planetary systems, and also stars and pulsars with the systems of planets (Barkin, 2009). Cyclicity. The excitation on the part of external celestial bodies of the system core-mantle depends from relative positions of external celestial bodies, from particularities of their perturbed orbital motions and from rotary motion of the planet. The specified motions have a cyclic nature which is shown in various time scales. Hence, and excitation of shells and their layers will have also cyclic character and to be shown in various time scales. Hence, cyclic variations of all planetary natural processes in all the variety widely should be observed, as takes place in reality. The periods of variations are characterized by extremely wide range - from hours up to tens and hundreds millions years. If the core makes slow secular drift relatively to the mantle all layers and shells of the Earth test secular deformation, thermodynamic and other changes. The cavity of the core and its flows are changed slowly that results in secular variations of a magnetic field (Barkin, 2002, 2009). Inversion and asymmetry of cyclic and secular variations of natural processes. The essence of it rather wide distributed phenomena is, that activity of natural processes varies in an

Characterization of Extrasolar Planets Using SOFIA

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, Drake

2010-01-01

Topics include: the landscape of extrasolar planets, why focus on transiting planets, some history and Spitzer results, problems in atmospheric structure or hot Jupiters and hot super Earths, what observations are needed to make progress, and what SOFIA can currently do and comments on optimized instruments.

Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation

Science.gov (United States)

Raymond, S. N.; Armitage, P. J.; Moro-Martín, A.; Booth, M.; Wyatt, M. C.; Armstrong, J. C.; Mandell, A. M.; Selsis, F.; West, A. A.

2011-06-01

There exists strong circumstantial evidence from their eccentric orbits that most of the known extra-solar planetary systems are the survivors of violent dynamical instabilities. Here we explore the effect of giant planet instabilities on the formation and survival of terrestrial planets. We numerically simulate the evolution of planetary systems around Sun-like stars that include three components: (i) an inner disk of planetesimals and planetary embryos; (ii) three giant planets at Jupiter-Saturn distances; and (iii) an outer disk of planetesimals comparable to estimates of the primitive Kuiper belt. We calculate the dust production and spectral energy distribution of each system by assuming that each planetesimal particle represents an ensemble of smaller bodies in collisional equilibrium. Our main result is a strong correlation between the evolution of the inner and outer parts of planetary systems, i.e. between the presence of terrestrial planets and debris disks. Strong giant planet instabilities - that produce very eccentric surviving planets - destroy all rocky material in the system, including fully-formed terrestrial planets if the instabilities occur late, and also destroy the icy planetesimal population. Stable or weakly unstable systems allow terrestrial planets to accrete in their inner regions and significant dust to be produced in their outer regions, detectable at mid-infrared wavelengths as debris disks. Stars older than ~100 Myr with bright cold dust emission (in particular at λ ~ 70 μm) signpost dynamically calm environments that were conducive to efficient terrestrial accretion. Such emission is present around ~16% of billion-year old Solar-type stars. Our simulations yield numerous secondary results: 1) the typical eccentricities of as-yet undetected terrestrial planets are ~0.1 but there exists a novel class of terrestrial planet system whose single planet undergoes large amplitude oscillations in orbital eccentricity and inclination; 2) by

No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Checlair, Jade; Abbot, Dorian S. [Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Menou, Kristen, E-mail: jadecheclair@uchicago.edu [Centre for Planetary Sciences, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4 (Canada)

2017-08-20

The TRAPPIST-1, Proxima Centauri, and LHS 1140 systems are the most exciting prospects for future follow-up observations of potentially inhabited planets. All of the planets orbit nearby M-stars and are likely tidally locked in 1:1 spin–orbit states, which motivates the consideration of the effects that tidal locking might have on planetary habitability. On Earth, periods of global glaciation (snowballs) may have been essential for habitability and remote signs of life (biosignatures) because they are correlated with increases in the complexity of life and in the atmospheric oxygen concentration. In this paper, we investigate the snowball bifurcation (sudden onset of global glaciation) on tidally locked planets using both an energy balance model and an intermediate-complexity global climate model. We show that tidally locked planets are unlikely to exhibit a snowball bifurcation as a direct result of the spatial pattern of insolation they receive. Instead, they will smoothly transition from partial to complete ice coverage and back. A major implication of this work is that tidally locked planets with an active carbon cycle should not be found in a snowball state. Moreover, this work implies that tidally locked planets near the outer edge of the habitable zone with low CO{sub 2} outgassing fluxes will equilibrate with a small unglaciated substellar region rather than cycling between warm and snowball states. More work is needed to determine how the lack of a snowball bifurcation might affect the development of life on a tidally locked planet.

Kepler-62: a five-planet system with planets of 1.4 and 1.6 Earth radii in the habitable zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Borucki, William J; Agol, Eric; Fressin, Francois; Kaltenegger, Lisa; Rowe, Jason; Isaacson, Howard; Fischer, Debra; Batalha, Natalie; Lissauer, Jack J; Marcy, Geoffrey W; Fabrycky, Daniel; Désert, Jean-Michel; Bryson, Stephen T; Barclay, Thomas; Bastien, Fabienne; Boss, Alan; Brugamyer, Erik; Buchhave, Lars A; Burke, Chris; Caldwell, Douglas A; Carter, Josh; Charbonneau, David; Crepp, Justin R; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen; Christiansen, Jessie L; Ciardi, David; Cochran, William D; DeVore, Edna; Doyle, Laurance; Dupree, Andrea K; Endl, Michael; Everett, Mark E; Ford, Eric B; Fortney, Jonathan; Gautier, Thomas N; Geary, John C; Gould, Alan; Haas, Michael; Henze, Christopher; Howard, Andrew W; Howell, Steve B; Huber, Daniel; Jenkins, Jon M; Kjeldsen, Hans; Kolbl, Rea; Kolodziejczak, Jeffery; Latham, David W; Lee, Brian L; Lopez, Eric; Mullally, Fergal; Orosz, Jerome A; Prsa, Andrej; Quintana, Elisa V; Sanchis-Ojeda, Roberto; Sasselov, Dimitar; Seader, Shawn; Shporer, Avi; Steffen, Jason H; Still, Martin; Tenenbaum, Peter; Thompson, Susan E; Torres, Guillermo; Twicken, Joseph D; Welsh, William F; Winn, Joshua N

2013-05-03

We present the detection of five planets--Kepler-62b, c, d, e, and f--of size 1.31, 0.54, 1.95, 1.61 and 1.41 Earth radii (R⊕), orbiting a K2V star at periods of 5.7, 12.4, 18.2, 122.4, and 267.3 days, respectively. The outermost planets, Kepler-62e and -62f, are super-Earth-size (1.25 R⊕ planet radius ≤ 2.0 R⊕) planets in the habitable zone of their host star, respectively receiving 1.2 ± 0.2 times and 0.41 ± 0.05 times the solar flux at Earth's orbit. Theoretical models of Kepler-62e and -62f for a stellar age of ~7 billion years suggest that both planets could be solid, either with a rocky composition or composed of mostly solid water in their bulk.

The planetesimal-driven migration of planets: Observational consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panichi, F.

2014-01-01

The role of planetary migration in a non–self-gravity planetesimals disk is analyzed in this paper. I calculate the migration rate exerted on a planet due to the gravitational interaction with a planetesimals disk both numerically and analytically. I use two different configurations for the disk-planet interaction: corotating (with an inclination of 0◦ with respect to the plane of motion of the disk) and counter-rotating (with an inclination of 180◦) planet. I perform 2D numerical simulations of disks with 104 planetesimals with or without a Rayleigh distribution in eccentricity. I show that counter- and co-rotating planets have different migration rates: retrograde planets migrate faster than the prograde ones. The migration rate depends on the ratio between the planet to planetesimal mass and on the initial mean eccentricity of planetesimals. I compare numerical simulations with analytical theories of dynamical friction and linear theory of density waves. In both cases each theory can explain only parts of the simulation results. A more general and powerful analytical theory of planet migration must be realized. Finally I simulate the observation of co- and counter-rotating massless disks of planetesimals with the interferometer ALMA. With the high resolution of ALMA it is possible to characterize the gap created by the resonances overlap. I show that in the two cases different resonance conditions create gaps with different extensions which can be observed with ALMA for a distance of 100 parsec and a disk size of 100 A.U., and for disks of 20 A.U. and a distance of 50 parsec. With this simple method it is possible to calculate the planet’s mass in both cases studying the indirect presence of the planet. The case of massive disks are also investigated. In this case planet migration creates a large modification of the planetesimals density profile that can be studied observing the brightness surface profile of the disk. Conversely to other detection

Star-planet systems as possible progenitors of cataclysmic binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livio, M.; Soker, N.

1984-01-01

The evolution of a star-planet system is studied, in the phase in which the star becomes a red giant, thus enabling the planet to accrete mass either from its envelope or from its wind. It is found that for planets which are embedded in the envelope, there exists a certain critical initial mass, under which the planets are totally evaporated while spiralling-in. Planets with an initial mass above this critical value are all transformed into low-mass stellar companions to the giant's core. The final masses of these secondaries are almost independent of their initial mass and their initial separation, as long as the latter is greater than a certain critical value. The final masses are essentially determined by the giant's envelope mass. The star-planet separation is found to increase for planets that accrete from the stellar wind, when tidal effects are neglected. Possible consequences of these results on the problem of formation of low-mass cataclysmic binaries are discussed. (author)

Worlds beyond our own the search for habitable planets

CERN Document Server

Sengupta, Sujan

2015-01-01

This is a book on planets: Solar system planets and dwarf planets. And planets outside our solar system – exoplanets. How did they form? What types of planets are there and what do they have in common? How do they differ? What do we know about their atmospheres – if they have one? What are the conditions for life and on which planets may they be met? And what’s the origin of life on Earth and how did it form? You will understand how rare the solar system, the Earth and hence life is. This is also a book on stars. The first and second generation of stars in the Universe. But in particular also on the link between planets and stars – brown dwarfs. Their atmospheric properties and similarities with giant exoplanets. All these fascinating questions will be answered in a non-technical manner. But those of you who want to know a bit more may look up the relevant mathematical relationships in appendices.

Dynamical Constraints on Non-Transiting Planets at Trappist-1

Science.gov (United States)

Jontof-Hutter, Daniel; Truong, Vinh; Ford, Eric; Robertson, Paul; Terrien, Ryan

2018-04-01

The outermost of the seven known planets of Trappist-1 orbits six times closer to its host star than Mercury orbits the sun. The architecture of this system beyond 0.07 AU remains unknown. While the presence of additional planets will ultimately be determined by observations, in the meantime, some constraints can be derived from dynamical models.We will firstly look at the expected signature of additional planets at Trappist-1 on the transit times of the known planets to determine at what distances putatuve planets can be ruled out.Secondly, the remarkably compact configuration of Trappist-1 ensures that the known planets are secularly coupled, keeping their mutual inclinations very small and making their cotransiting geometry likely if Trappist-1h transits. We determine the range of masses and orbital inclinations of a putatuve outer planet that would make the observed configuration unlikely, and compare these to these constraints to those expected from radial velocity observations.

Four new planets around giant stars and the mass-metallicity correlation of planet-hosting stars

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, M. I.; Jenkins, J. S.; Brahm, R.; Wittenmyer, R. A.; Olivares E., F.; Melo, C. H. F.; Rojo, P.; Jordán, A.; Drass, H.; Butler, R. P.; Wang, L.

2016-05-01

Context. Exoplanet searches have revealed interesting correlations between the stellar properties and the occurrence rate of planets. In particular, different independent surveys have demonstrated that giant planets are preferentially found around metal-rich stars and that their fraction increases with the stellar mass. Aims: During the past six years we have conducted a radial velocity follow-up program of 166 giant stars to detect substellar companions and to characterize their orbital properties. Using this information, we aim to study the role of the stellar evolution in the orbital parameters of the companions and to unveil possible correlations between the stellar properties and the occurrence rate of giant planets. Methods: We took multi-epoch spectra using FEROS and CHIRON for all of our targets, from which we computed precision radial velocities and derived atmospheric and physical parameters. Additionally, velocities computed from UCLES spectra are presented here. By studying the periodic radial velocity signals, we detected the presence of several substellar companions. Results: We present four new planetary systems around the giant stars HIP 8541, HIP 74890, HIP 84056, and HIP 95124. Additionally, we study the correlation between the occurrence rate of giant planets with the stellar mass and metallicity of our targets. We find that giant planets are more frequent around metal-rich stars, reaching a peak in the detection of f = 16.7+15.5-5.9% around stars with [Fe/H] ~ 0.35 dex. Similarly, we observe a positive correlation of the planet occurrence rate with the stellar mass, between M⋆ ~ 1.0 and 2.1 M⊙, with a maximum of f = 13.0+10.1-4.2% at M⋆ = 2.1 M⊙. Conclusions: We conclude that giant planets are preferentially formed around metal-rich stars. In addition, we conclude that they are more efficiently formed around more massive stars, in the stellar mass range of ~1.0-2.1 M⊙. These observational results confirm previous findings for solar

Pioneering the red planet; adventures on Martian soil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Peijl, I.; Veraart, M.

2013-01-01

Mars has always obsessed humankind - the Red planet, the ‘New Earth’. And with the recent successful landing of NASA’s Curiosity rover, Mars is closer than ever. Ever since 1960, we have actively been sending probes and rovers to observe the planet, but not without defeat. The road to the red planet

Planet map generation by tetrahedral subdivision

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Torben Ægidius

2010-01-01

We present a method for generating pseudo-random, zoomable planet maps for games and art.  The method is based on spatial subdivision using tetrahedrons.  This ensures planet maps without discontinuities caused by mapping a flat map onto a sphere. We compare the method to other map...

Migration of planetesimals during last stages of giant planet accumulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ipatov, S.I.

1989-01-01

The migration and accumulation of bodies from the giant planet's feeding zones are investigated after the main part of mass of these planets had been formed. These investigations are based on the computer simulation results for the evolving spatial disks which initially consisted of a few almost formed planets and hundreds of identical bodies in Uranus and Neptune zone. It is shown that the total mass of bodies penetrated in the asteroid zone from the giant planet zones could be ten times as large as the Earth mass. The beyond-Neptune belt could form during accumulation of the giant planets. Evolution of the planet orbits under encounters of planets with planetesimals is investigated

Characterizing Cool Giant Planets in Reflected Light

Science.gov (United States)

Marley, Mark

2016-01-01

While the James Webb Space Telescope will detect and characterize extrasolar planets by transit and direct imaging, a new generation of telescopes will be required to detect and characterize extrasolar planets by reflected light imaging. NASA's WFIRST space telescope, now in development, will image dozens of cool giant planets at optical wavelengths and will obtain spectra for several of the best and brightest targets. This mission will pave the way for the detection and characterization of terrestrial planets by the planned LUVOIR or HabEx space telescopes. In my presentation I will discuss the challenges that arise in the interpretation of direct imaging data and present the results of our group's effort to develop methods for maximizing the science yield from these planned missions.

A Direct Path to Finding Earth-Like Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Heap, Sara R.; Linder, Don J.

2009-01-01

As envisaged by the 2000 astrophysics decadal survey panel: The main goal of Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) is nothing less than to search for evidence of life on terrestrial planets around nearby stars . Here, we consider how an optical telescope paired with a free-flying occulter blocking light from the star can reach this goal directly, without knowledge of results from prior astrometric, doppler, or transit exoplanet observations. Using design reference missions and other simulations, we explore the potential of TPF-O to find planets in the habitable zone around their central stars, to spectrally characterize the atmospheres of detected planets, and to obtain rudimentary information about their orbits. We emphasize the importance of ozone absorption in the UV spectrum of a planet as a marker of photosynthesis by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria.

THE PHOTOECCENTRIC EFFECT AND PROTO-HOT JUPITERS. I. MEASURING PHOTOMETRIC ECCENTRICITIES OF INDIVIDUAL TRANSITING PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, Rebekah I.; Johnson, John Asher

2012-01-01

Exoplanet orbital eccentricities offer valuable clues about the history of planetary systems. Eccentric, Jupiter-sized planets are particularly interesting: they may link the 'cold' Jupiters beyond the ice line to close-in hot Jupiters, which are unlikely to have formed in situ. To date, eccentricities of individual transiting planets primarily come from radial-velocity measurements. Kepler has discovered hundreds of transiting Jupiters spanning a range of periods, but the faintness of the host stars precludes radial-velocity follow-up of most. Here, we demonstrate a Bayesian method of measuring an individual planet's eccentricity solely from its transit light curve using prior knowledge of its host star's density. We show that eccentric Jupiters are readily identified by their short ingress/egress/total transit durations—part of the 'photoeccentric' light curve signature of a planet's eccentricity—even with long-cadence Kepler photometry and loosely constrained stellar parameters. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo exploration of parameter posteriors naturally marginalizes over the periapse angle and automatically accounts for the transit probability. To demonstrate, we use three published transit light curves of HD 17156 b to measure an eccentricity of e = 0.71 +0.16 –0.09 , in good agreement with the discovery value e = 0.67 ± 0.08 based on 33 radial-velocity measurements. We present two additional tests using Kepler data. In each case, the technique proves to be a viable method of measuring exoplanet eccentricities and their confidence intervals. Finally, we argue that this method is the most efficient, effective means of identifying the extremely eccentric, proto-hot Jupiters predicted by Socrates et al.

The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets. X. Detection and characterization of giant planets by the dozen

Science.gov (United States)

Hébrard, G.; Arnold, L.; Forveille, T.; Correia, A. C. M.; Laskar, J.; Bonfils, X.; Boisse, I.; Díaz, R. F.; Hagelberg, J.; Sahlmann, J.; Santos, N. C.; Astudillo-Defru, N.; Borgniet, S.; Bouchy, F.; Bourrier, V.; Courcol, B.; Delfosse, X.; Deleuil, M.; Demangeon, O.; Ehrenreich, D.; Gregorio, J.; Jovanovic, N.; Labrevoir, O.; Lagrange, A.-M.; Lovis, C.; Lozi, J.; Moutou, C.; Montagnier, G.; Pepe, F.; Rey, J.; Santerne, A.; Ségransan, D.; Udry, S.; Vanhuysse, M.; Vigan, A.; Wilson, P. A.

2016-04-01

We present new radial velocity measurements of eight stars that were secured with the spectrograph SOPHIE at the 193 cm telescope of the Haute-Provence Observatory. The measurements allow detecting and characterizing new giant extrasolar planets. The host stars are dwarfs of spectral types between F5 and K0 and magnitudes of between 6.7 and 9.6; the planets have minimum masses Mp sin I of between 0.4 to 3.8 MJup and orbitalperiods of several days to several months. The data allow only single planets to be discovered around the first six stars (HD 143105, HIP 109600, HD 35759, HIP 109384, HD 220842, and HD 12484), but one of them shows the signature of an additional substellar companion in the system. The seventh star, HIP 65407, allows the discovery of two giant planets that orbit just outside the 12:5 resonance in weak mutual interaction. The last star, HD 141399, was already known to host a four-planet system; our additional data and analyses allow new constraints to be set on it. We present Keplerian orbits of all systems, together with dynamical analyses of the two multi-planet systems. HD 143105 is one of the brightest stars known to host a hot Jupiter, which could allow numerous follow-up studies to be conducted even though this is not a transiting system. The giant planets HIP 109600b, HIP 109384b, and HD 141399c are located in the habitable zone of their host star. Based on observations collected with the SOPHIE spectrograph on the 1.93-m telescope at Observatoire de Haute-Provence (CNRS), France, by the SOPHIE Consortium (programs 07A.PNP.CONS to 15A.PNP.CONS).Full version of the SOPHIE measurements (Table 1) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/588/A145

A STELLAR-MASS-DEPENDENT DROP IN PLANET OCCURRENCE RATES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulders, Gijs D.; Pascucci, Ilaria; Apai, Dániel

2015-01-01

The Kepler spacecraft has discovered a large number of planets with up to one-year periods and down to terrestrial sizes. While the majority of the target stars are main-sequence dwarfs of spectral type F, G, and K, Kepler covers stars with effective temperatures as low as 2500 K, which corresponds to M stars. These cooler stars allow characterization of small planets near the habitable zone, yet it is not clear if this population is representative of that around FGK stars. In this paper, we calculate the occurrence of planets around stars of different spectral types as a function of planet radius and distance from the star and show that they are significantly different from each other. We further identify two trends. First, the occurrence of Earth- to Neptune-sized planets (1-4 R ⊕ ) is successively higher toward later spectral types at all orbital periods probed by Kepler; planets around M stars occur twice as frequently as around G stars, and thrice as frequently as around F stars. Second, a drop in planet occurrence is evident at all spectral types inward of a ∼10 day orbital period, with a plateau further out. By assigning to each spectral type a median stellar mass, we show that the distance from the star where this drop occurs is stellar mass dependent, and scales with semi-major axis as the cube root of stellar mass. By comparing different mechanisms of planet formation, trapping, and destruction, we find that this scaling best matches the location of the pre-main-sequence co-rotation radius, indicating efficient trapping of migrating planets or planetary building blocks close to the star. These results demonstrate the stellar-mass dependence of the planet population, both in terms of occurrence rate and of orbital distribution. The prominent stellar-mass dependence of the inner boundary of the planet population shows that the formation or migration of planets is sensitive to the stellar parameters

On the Terminal Rotation Rates of Giant Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Batygin, Konstantin

2018-04-01

Within the general framework of the core-nucleated accretion theory of giant planet formation, the conglomeration of massive gaseous envelopes is facilitated by a transient period of rapid accumulation of nebular material. While the concurrent build-up of angular momentum is expected to leave newly formed planets spinning at near-breakup velocities, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as super-Jovian long-period extrasolar planets, are observed to rotate well below criticality. In this work, we demonstrate that the large luminosity of a young giant planet simultaneously leads to the generation of a strong planetary magnetic field, as well as thermal ionization of the circumplanetary disk. The ensuing magnetic coupling between the planetary interior and the quasi-Keplerian motion of the disk results in efficient braking of planetary rotation, with hydrodynamic circulation of gas within the Hill sphere playing the key role of expelling spin angular momentum to the circumstellar nebula. Our results place early-stage giant planet and stellar rotation within the same evolutionary framework, and motivate further exploration of magnetohydrodynamic phenomena in the context of the final stages of giant planet formation.

Characterizing the Habitable Zone Planets of Kepler Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Debra

Planet Hunters (PH) is a well-established and successful web interface that allows citizen scientists to search for transiting planets in the NASA Kepler public archive data. Over the past 3 years, our users have made more than 20 million light curve classifications. We now have more than 300,000 users around the world. However, more than half of the Kepler data has not yet been displayed to our volunteers. In June 2014 we are launching Planet Hunters v2.0. The backend of the site has been completely redesigned. The new website is more intuitive and faster; we have improved the real-time weighting algorithm that assigns transit scores for faster and more accurate extraction of the transit events from the database. With Planet Hunters v2.0, we expect that assessments will be ten times faster, so that we have the opportunity to complete the classifications for the backlog of Kepler light curve in the next three years. There are three goals for this project. First, we will data-mine the PH classifications to search for long period planets with fewer than 5 transit events. We have demonstrated that our volunteers are efficient at detecting planets with long periods and radii greater than a few REARTH. This region of parameter space is optimal for characterizing larger planets orbiting close to the habitable zone. To build upon the citizen science efforts, we will model the light curves, search for evidence of false positives, and contribute observations of stellar spectra to refine both the stellar and orbital parameters. Second, we will carry out a careful analysis of the fraction of transits that are missed (a function of planet radius and orbital period) to derive observational incompleteness factors. The incompleteness factors will be combined with geometrical detection factors to assess the planet occurrence rate for wide separations. This is a unique scientific contribution current studies of planet occurrence rate are either restricted to orbital periods shorter

Characterizing Young Giant Planets with the Gemini Planet Imager: An Iterative Approach to Planet Characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Marley, Mark

2015-01-01

After discovery, the first task of exoplanet science is characterization. However experience has shown that the limited spectral range and resolution of most directly imaged exoplanet data requires an iterative approach to spectral modeling. Simple, brown dwarf-like models, must first be tested to ascertain if they are both adequate to reproduce the available data and consistent with additional constraints, including the age of the system and available limits on the planet's mass and luminosity, if any. When agreement is lacking, progressively more complex solutions must be considered, including non-solar composition, partial cloudiness, and disequilibrium chemistry. Such additional complexity must be balanced against an understanding of the limitations of the atmospheric models themselves. For example while great strides have been made in improving the opacities of important molecules, particularly NH3 and CH4, at high temperatures, much more work is needed to understand the opacity of atomic Na and K. The highly pressure broadened fundamental band of Na and K in the optical stretches into the near-infrared, strongly influencing the spectral shape of Y and J spectral bands. Discerning gravity and atmospheric composition is difficult, if not impossible, without both good atomic opacities as well as an excellent understanding of the relevant atmospheric chemistry. I will present examples of the iterative process of directly imaged exoplanet characterization as applied to both known and potentially newly discovered exoplanets with a focus on constraints provided by GPI spectra. If a new GPI planet is lacking, as a case study I will discuss HR 8799 c and d will explain why some solutions, such as spatially inhomogeneous cloudiness, introduce their own additional layers of complexity. If spectra of new planets from GPI are available I will explain the modeling process in the context of understanding these new worlds.

Mission to Planet Earth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, G.S.; Backlund, P.W.

1992-01-01

Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) is NASA's concept for an international science program to produce the understanding needed to predict changes in the earth's environment. NASA and its interagency and international partners will place satellites carrying advanced sensors in strategic earth orbits to gather multidisciplinary data. A sophisticated data system will process and archive an unprecedented amount of information about the earth and how it works as a system. Increased understanding of the earth system is a basic human responsibility, a prerequisite to informed management of the planet's resources and to the preservation of the global environment. 8 refs

Mission to Planet Earth

Science.gov (United States)

Tilford, Shelby G.; Asrar, Ghassem; Backlund, Peter W.

1994-01-01

Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) is NASA's concept for an international science program to produce the understanding needed to predict changes in the Earth's environment. NASA and its interagency and international partners will place satellites carrying advanced sensors in strategic Earth orbits to gather multidisciplinary data. A sophisticated data system will process and archive an unprecedented amount of information about the Earth and how it works as a system. Increased understanding of the Earth system is a basic human responsibility, a prerequisite to informed management of the planet's resources and to the preservation of the global environment.

Pathway to the galactic distribution of planets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Novati, S. Calchi; Gould, A.; Udalski, A.

2015-01-01

distance estimates for each lens, with error bars that are small compared to the Sun's Galactocentric distance. The ensemble therefore yields a well-defined cumulative distribution of lens distances. In principle it is possible to compare this distribution against a set of planets detected in the same...... experiment in order to measure the Galactic distribution of planets. Since these Spitzer observations yielded only one planet, this is not yet possible in practice. However, it will become possible as larger samples are accumulated....

The Radiometric Bode's law and Extrasolar Planets

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lazio, T. J; Farrell, W. M; Dietrick, Jill; Greenlees, Elizabeth; Hogan, Emily; Jones, Christopher; Hennig, L. A

2004-01-01

We predict the radio flux densities of the extrasolar planets in the current census, making use of an empirical relation the radiometric Bode's law determined from the five "magnetic" planets in the solar system...

Richest Planetary System Discovered - Up to seven planets orbiting a Sun-like star

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-01

seven planets orbiting HD 10180: probing the architecture of low-mass planetary systems" by C. Lovis et al.). The team is composed of C. Lovis, D. Ségransan, M. Mayor, S. Udry, F. Pepe, and D. Queloz (Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, Switzerland), W. Benz (Universität Bern, Switzerland), F. Bouchy (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France), C. Mordasini (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg, Germany), N. C. Santos (Universidade do Porto, Portugal), J. Laskar (Observatoire de Paris, France), A. Correia (Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal), and J.-L. Bertaux (Université Versailles Saint-Quentin, France) and G. Lo Curto (ESO). ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

PLANET ENGULFMENT BY ∼1.5-3 Msun RED GIANTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunitomo, M.; Ikoma, M.; Sato, B.; Ida, S.; Katsuta, Y.

2011-01-01

Recent radial-velocity surveys for GK clump giants have revealed that planets also exist around ∼1.5-3 M sun stars. However, no planets have been found inside 0.6 AU around clump giants, in contrast to solar-type main-sequence stars, many of which harbor short-period planets such as hot Jupiters. In this study, we examine the possibility that planets were engulfed by host stars evolving on the red-giant branch (RGB). We integrate the orbital evolution of planets in the RGB and helium-burning phases of host stars, including the effects of stellar tide and stellar mass loss. Then we derive the critical semimajor axis (or the survival limit) inside which planets are eventually engulfed by their host stars after tidal decay of their orbits. Specifically, we investigate the impact of stellar mass and other stellar parameters on the survival limit in more detail than previous studies. In addition, we make detailed comparisons with measured semimajor axes of planets detected so far, which no previous study has done. We find that the critical semimajor axis is quite sensitive to stellar mass in the range between 1.7 and 2.1 M sun , which suggests a need for careful comparison between theoretical and observational limits of the existence of planets. Our comparison demonstrates that all planets orbiting GK clump giants that have been detected are beyond the survival limit, which is consistent with the planet-engulfment hypothesis. However, on the high-mass side (>2.1M sun ), the detected planets are orbiting significantly far from the survival limit, which suggests that engulfment by host stars may not be the main reason for the observed lack of short-period giant planets. To confirm our conclusion, the detection of more planets around clump giants, especially with masses ∼> 2.5M sun , is required.

A resonant chain of four transiting, sub-Neptune planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Sean M; Fabrycky, Daniel C; Migaszewski, Cezary; Ford, Eric B; Petigura, Erik; Isaacson, Howard

2016-05-26

Surveys have revealed many multi-planet systems containing super-Earths and Neptunes in orbits of a few days to a few months. There is debate whether in situ assembly or inward migration is the dominant mechanism of the formation of such planetary systems. Simulations suggest that migration creates tightly packed systems with planets whose orbital periods may be expressed as ratios of small integers (resonances), often in a many-planet series (chain). In the hundreds of multi-planet systems of sub-Neptunes, more planet pairs are observed near resonances than would generally be expected, but no individual system has hitherto been identified that must have been formed by migration. Proximity to resonance enables the detection of planets perturbing each other. Here we report transit timing variations of the four planets in the Kepler-223 system, model these variations as resonant-angle librations, and compute the long-term stability of the resonant chain. The architecture of Kepler-223 is too finely tuned to have been formed by scattering, and our numerical simulations demonstrate that its properties are natural outcomes of the migration hypothesis. Similar systems could be destabilized by any of several mechanisms, contributing to the observed orbital-period distribution, where many planets are not in resonances. Planetesimal interactions in particular are thought to be responsible for establishing the current orbits of the four giant planets in the Solar System by disrupting a theoretical initial resonant chain similar to that observed in Kepler-223.

WFIRST: Retrieval Studies of Directly Imaged Extrasolar Giant Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Marley, Mark; Lupu, Roxana; Lewis, Nikole K.; WFIRST Coronagraph SITs

2018-01-01

The typical direct imaging and spectroscopy target for the WFIRST Coronagraph will be a mature Jupiter-mass giant planet at a few AU from an FGK star. The spectra of such planets is expected to be shaped primarily by scattering from H2O clouds and absorption by gaseous NH3 and CH4. We have computed forward model spectra of such typical planets and applied noise models to understand the quality of photometry and spectra we can expect. Using such simulated datasets we have conducted Markov Chain Monte Carlo and MultiNest retrievals to derive atmospheric abundance of CH4, cloud scattering properties, gravity, and other parameters for various planets and observing modes. Our focus has primarily been to understand which combinations of photometry and spectroscopy at what SNR allow retrievals of atmospheric methane mixing ratios to within a factor of ten of the true value. This is a challenging task for directly imaged planets as the planet mass and radius--and thus surface gravity--are not as well constrained as in the case of transiting planets. We find that for plausible planets and datasets of the quality expected to be obtained by WFIRST it should be possible to place such constraints, at least for some planets. We present some examples of our retrieval results and explain how they have been utilized to help set design requirements on the coronagraph camera and integrated field spectrometer.

CANDIDATE PLANETS IN THE HABITABLE ZONES OF KEPLER STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaidos, Eric

2013-01-01

A key goal of the Kepler mission is the discovery of Earth-size transiting planets in ''habitable zones'' where stellar irradiance maintains a temperate climate on an Earth-like planet. Robust estimates of planet radius and irradiance require accurate stellar parameters, but most Kepler systems are faint, making spectroscopy difficult and prioritization of targets desirable. The parameters of 2035 host stars were estimated by Bayesian analysis and the probabilities p HZ that 2738 candidate or confirmed planets orbit in the habitable zone were calculated. Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program models were compared to photometry from the Kepler Input Catalog, priors for stellar mass, age, metallicity and distance, and planet transit duration. The analysis yielded probability density functions for calculating confidence intervals of planet radius and stellar irradiance, as well as p HZ . Sixty-two planets have p HZ > 0.5 and a most probable stellar irradiance within habitable zone limits. Fourteen of these have radii less than twice the Earth; the objects most resembling Earth in terms of radius and irradiance are KOIs 2626.01 and 3010.01, which orbit late K/M-type dwarf stars. The fraction of Kepler dwarf stars with Earth-size planets in the habitable zone (η ⊕ ) is 0.46, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.31-0.64. Parallaxes from the Gaia mission will reduce uncertainties by more than a factor of five and permit definitive assignments of transiting planets to the habitable zones of Kepler stars.

An Earth-sized planet with an Earth-like density.

Science.gov (United States)

Pepe, Francesco; Cameron, Andrew Collier; Latham, David W; Molinari, Emilio; Udry, Stéphane; Bonomo, Aldo S; Buchhave, Lars A; Charbonneau, David; Cosentino, Rosario; Dressing, Courtney D; Dumusque, Xavier; Figueira, Pedro; Fiorenzano, Aldo F M; Gettel, Sara; Harutyunyan, Avet; Haywood, Raphaëlle D; Horne, Keith; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes; Lovis, Christophe; Malavolta, Luca; Mayor, Michel; Micela, Giusi; Motalebi, Fatemeh; Nascimbeni, Valerio; Phillips, David; Piotto, Giampaolo; Pollacco, Don; Queloz, Didier; Rice, Ken; Sasselov, Dimitar; Ségransan, Damien; Sozzetti, Alessandro; Szentgyorgyi, Andrew; Watson, Christopher A

2013-11-21

Recent analyses of data from the NASA Kepler spacecraft have established that planets with radii within 25 per cent of the Earth's (R Earth symbol) are commonplace throughout the Galaxy, orbiting at least 16.5 per cent of Sun-like stars. Because these studies were sensitive to the sizes of the planets but not their masses, the question remains whether these Earth-sized planets are indeed similar to the Earth in bulk composition. The smallest planets for which masses have been accurately determined are Kepler-10b (1.42 R Earth symbol) and Kepler-36b (1.49 R Earth symbol), which are both significantly larger than the Earth. Recently, the planet Kepler-78b was discovered and found to have a radius of only 1.16 R Earth symbol. Here we report that the mass of this planet is 1.86 Earth masses. The resulting mean density of the planet is 5.57 g cm(-3), which is similar to that of the Earth and implies a composition of iron and rock.

THE McDONALD OBSERVATORY PLANET SEARCH: NEW LONG-PERIOD GIANT PLANETS AND TWO INTERACTING JUPITERS IN THE HD 155358 SYSTEM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, Paul; Endl, Michael; Cochran, William D.; MacQueen, Phillip J.; Brugamyer, Erik J.; Barnes, Stuart I.; Caldwell, Caroline; Wittenmyer, Robert A.; Horner, J.; Simon, Attila E.

2012-01-01

We present high-precision radial velocity (RV) observations of four solar-type (F7-G5) stars—HD 79498, HD 155358, HD 197037, and HD 220773—taken as part of the McDonald Observatory Planet Search Program. For each of these stars, we see evidence of Keplerian motion caused by the presence of one or more gas giant planets in long-period orbits. We derive orbital parameters for each system and note the properties (composition, activity, etc.) of the host stars. While we have previously announced the two-gas-giant HD 155358 system, we now report a shorter period for planet c. This new period is consistent with the planets being trapped in mutual 2:1 mean-motion resonance. We therefore perform an in-depth stability analysis, placing additional constraints on the orbital parameters of the planets. These results demonstrate the excellent long-term RV stability of the spectrometers on both the Harlan J. Smith 2.7 m telescope and the Hobby-Eberly telescope.

Building the giant planet cores by convergent migration of pebble-accreting embryos

Science.gov (United States)

Chrenko, Ondrej; Broz, Miroslav

2016-10-01

An explanation of the accretion buildup of giant planet cores on rather short (~Myr) time scales remains a long-standing challenge for scenarios of planetary system formation. One of the recently proposed processes that can take part during this evolutionary stage is the convergent Type I migration of Earth-sized embryos towards the zero-torque radius, occurring at an opacity transition within the dusty-gaseous protoplanetary disk (e.g. Pierens et al. 2013). Inconveniently, simulations show that such groups of embryos do not merge easily because they often get locked in mutual mean-motion resonances and consequently form an inward-migrating convoy.We revise this possibility of merging embryos while taking into account their ongoing growth by pebble accretion. Our aim is to check whether the rapid changes of masses combined with the migration of embryos through the feeding zone can break the resonant chain and allow for the giant planet core formation.The environment of the protoplanetary disk is modeled with the 2D FARGO code (Masset 2000), which we modified in order to perform non-isothermal hydrodynamic simulations, assuming flux-limited radiative diffusion (Levermore & Pomraning 1981). The embedded massive bodies are evolved simultaneously in 3D using the hybrid Wisdom-Holman/Gauss-Radau integrator from the Rebound package (Rein & Spiegel 2015). A semi-analytic method is used to evolve the masses of embryos by pebble accretion (e.g. Levison et al. 2015).

DUST COAGULATION IN THE VICINITY OF A GAP-OPENING JUPITER-MASS PLANET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carballido, Augusto; Matthews, Lorin S.; Hyde, Truell W., E-mail: Augusto_Carballido@baylor.edu [Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798 (United States)

2016-06-01

We analyze the coagulation of dust in and around a gap opened by a Jupiter-mass planet. To this end, we carry out a high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the gap environment, which is turbulent due to the magnetorotational instability. From the MHD simulation, we obtain values of the gas velocities, densities, and turbulent stresses (a) close to the gap edge, (b) in one of the two gas streams that accrete onto the planet, (c) inside the low-density gap, and (d) outside the gap. The MHD values are then input into a Monte Carlo dust-coagulation algorithm which models grain sticking and compaction. We also introduce a simple implementation for bouncing, for comparison purposes. We consider two dust populations for each region: one whose initial size distribution is monodisperse, with monomer radius equal to 1 μ m, and another one whose initial size distribution follows the Mathis–Rumpl–Nordsieck distribution for interstellar dust grains, with an initial range of monomer radii between 0.5 and 10 μ m. Without bouncing, our Monte Carlo calculations show steady growth of dust aggregates in all regions, and the mass-weighted (m-w) average porosity of the initially monodisperse population reaches extremely high final values of 98%. The final m-w porosities in all other cases without bouncing range between 30% and 82%. The efficiency of compaction is due to high turbulent relative speeds between dust particles. When bouncing is introduced, growth is slowed down in the planetary wake and inside the gap. Future studies will need to explore the effect of different planet masses and electric charge on grains.

DUST COAGULATION IN THE VICINITY OF A GAP-OPENING JUPITER-MASS PLANET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carballido, Augusto; Matthews, Lorin S.; Hyde, Truell W.

2016-01-01

We analyze the coagulation of dust in and around a gap opened by a Jupiter-mass planet. To this end, we carry out a high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the gap environment, which is turbulent due to the magnetorotational instability. From the MHD simulation, we obtain values of the gas velocities, densities, and turbulent stresses (a) close to the gap edge, (b) in one of the two gas streams that accrete onto the planet, (c) inside the low-density gap, and (d) outside the gap. The MHD values are then input into a Monte Carlo dust-coagulation algorithm which models grain sticking and compaction. We also introduce a simple implementation for bouncing, for comparison purposes. We consider two dust populations for each region: one whose initial size distribution is monodisperse, with monomer radius equal to 1 μ m, and another one whose initial size distribution follows the Mathis–Rumpl–Nordsieck distribution for interstellar dust grains, with an initial range of monomer radii between 0.5 and 10 μ m. Without bouncing, our Monte Carlo calculations show steady growth of dust aggregates in all regions, and the mass-weighted (m-w) average porosity of the initially monodisperse population reaches extremely high final values of 98%. The final m-w porosities in all other cases without bouncing range between 30% and 82%. The efficiency of compaction is due to high turbulent relative speeds between dust particles. When bouncing is introduced, growth is slowed down in the planetary wake and inside the gap. Future studies will need to explore the effect of different planet masses and electric charge on grains.

Stability of Multi-Planet Systems in the Alpha Centauri System

Science.gov (United States)

Lissauer, Jack J.

2017-01-01

We evaluate the extent of the regions within the alpha Centauri AB star system where small planets are able to orbit for billion-year timescales (Quarles & Lissauer 2016, Astron. J. 151, 111), as well as how closely-spaced planetary orbits can be within those regions in which individual planets can survive. Although individual planets on low inclination, low eccentricity, orbits can survive throughout the habitable zones of both stars, perturbations from the companion star imply that the spacing of planets in multi-planet systems within the habitable zones of each star must be significantly larger than the spacing of similar multi-planet systems orbiting single stars in order to be long-lived. Because the binary companion induces a forced eccentricity upon the orbits of planets in orbit around either star, appropriately-aligned circumstellar orbits with small initial eccentricities are stable to slightly larger initial semimajor axes than are initially circular orbits. Initial eccentricities close to forced eccentricities can have a much larger affect on how closely planetary orbits can be spaced, and therefore on how many planets may remain in the habitable zones, although the required spacing remains significantly higher than for planets orbiting single stars.

Water Loss from Young Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Feng; Güdel, Manuel; Johnstone, Colin P.; Lammer, Helmut; Luger, Rodrigo; Odert, Petra

2018-04-01

Good progress has been made in the past few years to better understand the XUV evolution trend of Sun-like stars, the capture and dissipation of hydrogen dominant envelopes of planetary embryos and protoplanets, and water loss from young planets around M dwarfs. This chapter reviews these recent developments. Observations of exoplanets and theoretical works in the near future will significantly advance our understanding of one of the fundamental physical processes shaping the evolution of solar system terrestrial planets.

A Ninth Planet in Our Solar System?

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-01-01

The recent discovery that the orbits of some Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) share properties has proved puzzling. A pair of scientists have now proposed a bold explanation: there may be a planet-sized object yet undetected in our solar system.Mysterious ClusteringKBOs, the population of mainly small objects beyond Neptune, have proven an especially interesting subject of study in the last decade as many small, distant bodies (such as Eris, the object that led to the demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet) have been discovered.Previous studies have recently discovered that some especially distant KBOs those that orbit with semimajor axes of a 150 AU, nearly four times that of Pluto all cross the ecliptic at a similar phase in their elliptical trajectories. This is unexpected, since gravitational tugs from the giant planets should have randomized this parameter over our solar systems multi-billion-year lifespan.Physical alignment of the orbits of Kuiper belt objects with a 250 AU (and two objects with a 150 AU that are dynamically stable). [Batygin Brown 2016]Two scientists at California Institute of Technology, Konstantin Batygin and Michael Brown (you might recognize Brown as the man who killed Pluto) have now increased the mystery. In a recently published a study, they demonstrate that for KBOs that have orbits with a 250 AU, the orbits are actually physically aligned.To explain this unexpected alignment which Batygin and Brown calculate has only a 0.007% probability of having occurred by chance the authors ask an exciting question: could this be caused by the presence of an unseen, large, perturbing body further out in the solar system?Simulating a Ninth PlanetThe authors test this hypothesis by carrying out both analytical calculations and numerical N-body simulations designed to determine if the gravitational influence of a distant, planetary-mass companion can explain the behavior we observe from the large-orbit KBOs.Simulation of the effect of a distant planet (M = 10

Hot-start Giant Planets Form with Radiative Interiors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berardo, David; Cumming, Andrew, E-mail: david.berardo@mcgill.ca, E-mail: andrew.cumming@mcgill.ca [Department of Physics and McGill Space Institute, McGill University, 3600 rue University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada)

2017-09-10

In the hot-start core accretion formation model for gas giants, the interior of a planet is usually assumed to be fully convective. By calculating the detailed internal evolution of a planet assuming hot-start outer boundary conditions, we show that such a planet will in fact form with a radially increasing internal entropy profile, so that its interior will be radiative instead of convective. For a hot outer boundary, there is a minimum value for the entropy of the internal adiabat S {sub min} below which the accreting envelope does not match smoothly onto the interior, but instead deposits high entropy material onto the growing interior. One implication of this would be to at least temporarily halt the mixing of heavy elements within the planet, which are deposited by planetesimals accreted during formation. The compositional gradient this would impose could subsequently disrupt convection during post-accretion cooling, which would alter the observed cooling curve of the planet. However, even with a homogeneous composition, for which convection develops as the planet cools, the difference in cooling timescale will change the inferred mass of directly imaged gas giants.

On the Radii of Close-in Giant Planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Burrows; Guillot; Hubbard; Marley; Saumon; Lunine; Sudarsky

2000-05-01

The recent discovery that the close-in extrasolar giant planet HD 209458b transits its star has provided a first-of-its-kind measurement of the planet's radius and mass. In addition, there is a provocative detection of the light reflected off of the giant planet tau Bootis b. Including the effects of stellar irradiation, we estimate the general behavior of radius/age trajectories for such planets and interpret the large measured radii of HD 209458b and tau Boo b in that context. We find that HD 209458b must be a hydrogen-rich gas giant. Furthermore, the large radius of a close-in gas giant is not due to the thermal expansion of its atmosphere but to the high residual entropy that remains throughout its bulk by dint of its early proximity to a luminous primary. The large stellar flux does not inflate the planet but retards its otherwise inexorable contraction from a more extended configuration at birth. This implies either that such a planet was formed near its current orbital distance or that it migrated in from larger distances (>/=0.5 AU), no later than a few times 107 yr of birth.

Terrestrial Planet Formation from an Annulus -- Revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Deienno, Rogerio; Walsh, Kevin J.; Kretke, Katherine A.; Levison, Harold F.

2018-04-01

Numerous recent theories of terrestrial planet formation suggest that, in order to reproduce the observed large Earth to Mars mass ratio, planets formed from an annulus of material within 1 au. The success of these models typically rely on a Mars sized embryo being scattered outside 1 au (to ~1.5 au) and starving, while those remaining inside 1 au continue growing, forming Earth and Venus. In some models the scattering is instigated by the migration of giant planets, while in others an embryo-instability naturally occurs due to the dissipation of the gaseous solar nebula. While these models can typically succeed in reproducing the overall mass ratio among the planets, the final angular momentum deficit (AMD) of the present terrestrial planets in our Solar System, and their radial mass concentration (RMC), namely the position where Mars end up in the simulations, are not always well reproduced. Assuming that the gas nebula may not be entirely dissipated when such an embryo-instability happens, here, we study the effects that the time of such an instability can have on the final AMD and RMC. In addition, we also included energy dissipation within embryo-embryo collisions by assuming a given coefficient of restitution for collisions. Our results show that: i) dissipation within embryo-embryo collisions do not play any important role in the final terrestrial planetary system; ii) the final AMD decreases only when the number of final planets formed increases; iii) the RMC tends to always be lower than the present value no matter the number of final planets; and iv) depending on the time that the embryo-instability happen, if too early, with too much gas still present, a second instability will generally happen after the dissipation of the gas nebula.

Transiting Planets from Kepler, K2 & TESS

Science.gov (United States)

Lissauer, Jack

2018-01-01

NASA's Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009, has been a resounding success. More than 4000 planet candidates have been identified using data from Kepler primary mission, which ended in 2013, and greater than 2000 of these candidates have been verified as bona fide exoplanets. After the loss of two reaction wheels ended the primary mission, the Kepler spacecraft was repurposed in 2014 to observe many fields on the sky for short periods. This new mission, dubbed K2, has led to the discovery of greater than 600 planet candidates, approximately 200 of which have been verified to date; most of these exoplanets are closer to us than the majority of exoplanets discovered by the primary Kepler mission. TESS, launching in 2018, will survey most of the sky for exoplanets, with emphasis on those orbiting nearby and/or bright host stars, making these planets especially well-suited for follow-up observations with other observatories to characterize atmospheric compositions and other properties. More than one-third of the planet candidates found by NASA's are associated with target stars that have more than one planet candidate, and such 'multis' account for the majority of candidates that have been verified as true planets. The large number of multis tells us that flat multiplanet systems like our Solar System are common. Virtually all of the candidate planetary systems are stable, as tested by numerical integrations that assume a physically motivated mass-radius relationship. Statistical studies performed on these candidate systems reveal a great deal about the architecture of planetary systems, including the typical spacing of orbits and flatness. The characteristics of several of the most interesting confirmed Kepler & K2 multi-planet systems will also be discussed.

On the Biohabitability of M-dwarf Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Wandel, A.

2018-04-01

The recent detection of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, Trappist-1, and many other nearby M-type stars has led to speculations whether liquid water and life actually exist on these planets. To a large extent, the answer depends on their yet unknown atmospheres, which may, however, be within observational reach in the near future by JWST, ELT, and other planned telescopes. We consider the habitability of planets of M-type stars in the context of their atmospheric properties, heat transport, and irradiation. Instead of the traditional definition of the habitable zone, we define the biohabitable zone, where liquid water and complex organic molecules can survive on at least part of the planetary surface. The atmospheric impact on the temperature is quantified in terms of the heating factor (a combination of greenhouse heating, stellar irradiation, albedo, etc.) and heat redistribution (horizontal energy transport). We investigate the biohabitable domain (where planets can support surface liquid water and organics) in terms of these two factors. Our results suggest that planets orbiting M-type stars may have life-supporting temperatures, at least on part of their surface, for a wide range of atmospheric properties. We apply this analyses to Proxima Cen b and the Trappist-1 system. Finally, we discuss the implications for the search of biosignatures and demonstrate how they may be used to estimate the abundance of photosynthesis and biotic planets.

Kepler planet-detection mission: introduction and first results.

Science.gov (United States)

Borucki, William J; Koch, David; Basri, Gibor; Batalha, Natalie; Brown, Timothy; Caldwell, Douglas; Caldwell, John; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen; Cochran, William D; DeVore, Edna; Dunham, Edward W; Dupree, Andrea K; Gautier, Thomas N; Geary, John C; Gilliland, Ronald; Gould, Alan; Howell, Steve B; Jenkins, Jon M; Kondo, Yoji; Latham, David W; Marcy, Geoffrey W; Meibom, Søren; Kjeldsen, Hans; Lissauer, Jack J; Monet, David G; Morrison, David; Sasselov, Dimitar; Tarter, Jill; Boss, Alan; Brownlee, Don; Owen, Toby; Buzasi, Derek; Charbonneau, David; Doyle, Laurance; Fortney, Jonathan; Ford, Eric B; Holman, Matthew J; Seager, Sara; Steffen, Jason H; Welsh, William F; Rowe, Jason; Anderson, Howard; Buchhave, Lars; Ciardi, David; Walkowicz, Lucianne; Sherry, William; Horch, Elliott; Isaacson, Howard; Everett, Mark E; Fischer, Debra; Torres, Guillermo; Johnson, John Asher; Endl, Michael; MacQueen, Phillip; Bryson, Stephen T; Dotson, Jessie; Haas, Michael; Kolodziejczak, Jeffrey; Van Cleve, Jeffrey; Chandrasekaran, Hema; Twicken, Joseph D; Quintana, Elisa V; Clarke, Bruce D; Allen, Christopher; Li, Jie; Wu, Haley; Tenenbaum, Peter; Verner, Ekaterina; Bruhweiler, Frederick; Barnes, Jason; Prsa, Andrej

2010-02-19

The Kepler mission was designed to determine the frequency of Earth-sized planets in and near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. The habitable zone is the region where planetary temperatures are suitable for water to exist on a planet's surface. During the first 6 weeks of observations, Kepler monitored 156,000 stars, and five new exoplanets with sizes between 0.37 and 1.6 Jupiter radii and orbital periods from 3.2 to 4.9 days were discovered. The density of the Neptune-sized Kepler-4b is similar to that of Neptune and GJ 436b, even though the irradiation level is 800,000 times higher. Kepler-7b is one of the lowest-density planets (approximately 0.17 gram per cubic centimeter) yet detected. Kepler-5b, -6b, and -8b confirm the existence of planets with densities lower than those predicted for gas giant planets.

Observing the Spectra of MEarth and TRAPPIST Planets with JWST

Science.gov (United States)

Morley, Caroline; Kreidberg, Laura; Rustamkulov, Zafar; Robinson, Tyler D.; Fortney, Jonathan J.

2017-10-01

During the past two years, nine planets close to Earth in radius have been discovered around nearby M dwarfs cooler than 3300 K. These planets include the 7 planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system and two planets discovered by the MEarth survey, GJ 1132b and LHS 1140b (Dittmann et al. 2017; Berta-Thompson et al. 2015; Gillon et al. 2017). These planets are the smallest planets discovered to date that will be amenable to atmospheric characterization with JWST. They span equilibrium temperatures from ˜130 K to >500 K, and radii from 0.7 to 1.43 Earth radii. Some of these planets orbit as distances potentially amenable to surface liquid water, though the actual surface temperatures will depend strongly on the albedo of the planet and the thickness and composition of its atmosphere. The stars they orbit also vary in activity levels, from the quiet LHS 1140b host star to the more active TRAPPIST-1 host star. This set of planets will form the testbed for our first chance to study the diversity of atmospheres around Earth-sized planets. Here, we will present model spectra of these 9 planets, varying the composition and the surface pressure of the atmosphere. We base our elemental compositions on three outcomes of planetary atmosphere evolution in our own solar system: Earth, Titan, and Venus. We calculate the molecular compositions in chemical equilibrium. We present both thermal emission spectra and transmission spectra for each of these objects, and make predictions for the observability of these spectra with different instrument modes with JWST.

Radio emission of the sun and planets

CERN Document Server

Zheleznyakov, V V

1970-01-01

International Series of Monographs in Natural Philosophy, Volume 25: Radio Emission of the Sun and Planets presents the origin of the radio emission of the planets. This book examines the outstanding triumphs achieved by radio astronomy of the solar system. Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the physical conditions in the upper layers of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets. This text then examines the three characteristics of radio emission, namely, the frequency spectrum, the polarization, and the angular spectrum. Other chapters consider the measurements of the i

Detecting tree-like multicellular life on extrasolar planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Doughty, Christopher E; Wolf, Adam

2010-11-01

Over the next two decades, NASA and ESA are planning a series of space-based observatories to find Earth-like planets and determine whether life exists on these planets. Previous studies have assessed the likelihood of detecting life through signs of biogenic gases in the atmosphere or a red edge. Biogenic gases and the red edge could be signs of either single-celled or multicellular life. In this study, we propose a technique with which to determine whether tree-like multicellular life exists on extrasolar planets. For multicellular photosynthetic organisms on Earth, competition for light and the need to transport water and nutrients has led to a tree-like body plan characterized by hierarchical branching networks. This design results in a distinct bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) that causes differing reflectance at different sun/view geometries. BRDF arises from the changing visibility of the shadows cast by objects, and the presence of tree-like structures is clearly distinguishable from flat ground with the same reflectance spectrum. We examined whether the BRDF could detect the existence of tree-like structures on an extrasolar planet by using changes in planetary albedo as a planet orbits its star. We used a semi-empirical BRDF model to simulate vegetation reflectance at different planetary phase angles and both simulated and real cloud cover to calculate disk and rotation-averaged planetary albedo for a vegetated and non-vegetated planet with abundant liquid water. We found that even if the entire planetary albedo were rendered to a single pixel, the rate of increase of albedo as a planet approaches full illumination would be comparatively greater on a vegetated planet than on a non-vegetated planet. Depending on how accurately planetary cloud cover can be resolved and the capabilities of the coronagraph to resolve exoplanets, this technique could theoretically detect tree-like multicellular life on exoplanets in 50 stellar systems.

SEARCHING FOR THE SIGNATURES OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS IN SOLAR ANALOGS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez Hernandez, J. I.; Israelian, G.; Delgado-Mena, E.; Santos, N. C.; Sousa, S.; Neves, V.; Udry, S.

2010-01-01

We present a fully differential chemical abundance analysis using very high resolution (λ/δλ ∼> 85, 000) and very high signal-to-noise (S/N ∼800 on average) HARPS and UVES spectra of 7 solar twins and 95 solar analogs, of which 24 are planet hosts and 71 are stars without detected planets. The whole sample of solar analogs provides very accurate Galactic chemical evolution trends in the metallicity range -0.3 < [Fe/H] < 0.5. Solar twins with and without planets show similar mean abundance ratios. We have also analyzed a sub-sample of 28 solar analogs, 14 planet hosts, and 14 stars without known planets, with spectra at S/N ∼850 on average, in the metallicity range 0.14 < [Fe/H] < 0.36, and find the same abundance pattern for both samples of stars with and without planets. This result does not depend on either the planet mass, from 7 Earth masses to 17.4 Jupiter masses, or the orbital period of the planets, from 3 to 4300 days. In addition, we have derived the slope of the abundance ratios as a function of the condensation temperature for each star and again find similar distributions of the slopes for both stars with and without planets. In particular, the peaks of these two distributions are placed at a similar value but with the opposite sign to that expected from a possible signature of terrestrial planets. In particular, two of the planetary systems in this sample, each of them containing a super-Earth-like planet, show slope values very close to these peaks, which may suggest that these abundance patterns are not related to the presence of terrestrial planets.

Predicting Precession Rates from Secular Dynamics for Extra-solar Multi-planet Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Van Laerhoven, Christa

2015-12-01

Considering the secular dynamics of multi-planet systems provides substantial insight into the interactions between planets in those systems. Secular interactions are those that don't involve knowing where a planet is along its orbit, and they dominate when planets are not involved in mean motion resonances. These interactions exchange angular momentum among the planets, evolving their eccentricities and inclinations. To second order in the planets' eccentricities and inclinations, the eccentricity and inclination perturbations are decoupled. Given the right variable choice, the relevant differential equations are linear and thus the eccentricity and inclination behaviors can be described as a sum of eigenmodes. Since the underlying structure of the secular eigenmodes can be calculated using only the planets' masses and semi-major axes, one can elucidate the eccentricity and inclination behavior of planets in exoplanet systems even without knowing the planets' current eccentricities and inclinations. I have calculated both the eccentricity and inclination secular eigenmodes for the population of known multi-planet systems whose planets have well determined masses and periods and have used this to predict what range of pericenter precession (and nodal regression) rates the planets may have. One might have assumed that in any given system the planets with shorter periods would have faster precession rates, but I show that this is not necessarily the case. Planets that are 'loners' have narrow ranges of possible precession rates, while planets that are 'groupies' can have a wider range of possible precession rates. Several planets are expected to undergo significant precession on few-year timescales and many planets (though not the majority of planets) will undergo significant precession on decade timescales.

Planets for Man

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dole, Stephen; Asimov, Isaac

2007-01-01

"Planets for Man" was written at the height of the space race, a few years before the first moon landing, when it was assumed that in the not-too-distant future human beings "will be able to travel...

The habitability of planets orbiting M-dwarf stars

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Aomawa L.; Ballard, Sarah; Johnson, John Asher

2016-12-01

The prospects for the habitability of M-dwarf planets have long been debated, due to key differences between the unique stellar and planetary environments around these low-mass stars, as compared to hotter, more luminous Sun-like stars. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made by both space- and ground-based observatories to measure the likelihood of small planets to orbit in the habitable zones of M-dwarf stars. We now know that most M dwarfs are hosts to closely-packed planetary systems characterized by a paucity of Jupiter-mass planets and the presence of multiple rocky planets, with roughly a third of these rocky M-dwarf planets orbiting within the habitable zone, where they have the potential to support liquid water on their surfaces. Theoretical studies have also quantified the effect on climate and habitability of the interaction between the spectral energy distribution of M-dwarf stars and the atmospheres and surfaces of their planets. These and other recent results fill in knowledge gaps that existed at the time of the previous overview papers published nearly a decade ago by Tarter et al. (2007) and Scalo et al. (2007). In this review we provide a comprehensive picture of the current knowledge of M-dwarf planet occurrence and habitability based on work done in this area over the past decade, and summarize future directions planned in this quickly evolving field.

Strategies to take into account variations in extreme rainfall events for design storms in urban area: an example over Naples (Southern Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Mercogliano, P.; Rianna, G.

2017-12-01

Eminent works highlighted how available observations display ongoing increases in extreme rainfall events while climate models assess them for future. Although the constraints in rainfall networks observations and uncertainties in climate modelling currently affect in significant way investigations, the huge impacts potentially induced by climate changes (CC) suggest adopting effective adaptation measures in order to take proper precautions. In this regard, design storms are used by engineers to size hydraulic infrastructures potentially affected by direct (e.g. pluvial/urban flooding) and indirect (e.g. river flooding) effects of extreme rainfall events. Usually they are expressed as IDF curves, mathematical relationships between rainfall Intensity, Duration, and the return period (frequency, F). They are estimated interpreting through Extreme Theories Statistical Theories (ETST) past rainfall records under the assumption of steady conditions resulting then unsuitable under climate change. In this work, a methodology to estimate future variations in IDF curves is presented and carried out for the city of Naples (Southern Italy). In this regard, the Equidistance Quantile Matching Approach proposed by Sivrastav et al. (2014) is adopted. According it, daily-subdaily maximum precipitation observations [a] and the analogous daily data provided by climate projections on current [b] and future time spans [c] are interpreted in IDF terms through Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) approach. After, quantile based mapping approach is used to establish a statistical relationship between cumulative distribution functions resulting by GEV of [a] and [b] (spatial downscaling) and [b] and [c] functions (temporal downscaling). Coupling so-obtained relations permits generating IDF curves under CC assumption. To account for uncertainties in future projections, all climate simulations available for the area in Euro-Cordex multimodel ensemble at 0.11° (about 12 km) are considered under

VLT/SPHERE robust astrometry of the HR8799 planets at milliarcsecond-level accuracy. Orbital architecture analysis with PyAstrOFit

Science.gov (United States)

Wertz, O.; Absil, O.; Gómez González, C. A.; Milli, J.; Girard, J. H.; Mawet, D.; Pueyo, L.

2017-02-01

Context. HR8799 is orbited by at least four giant planets, making it a prime target for the recently commissioned Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (VLT/SPHERE). As such, it was observed on five consecutive nights during the SPHERE science verification in December 2014. Aims: We aim to take full advantage of the SPHERE capabilities to derive accurate astrometric measurements based on H-band images acquired with the Infra-Red Dual-band Imaging and Spectroscopy (IRDIS) subsystem, and to explore the ultimate astrometric performance of SPHERE in this observing mode. We also aim to present a detailed analysis of the orbital parameters for the four planets. Methods: We performed thorough post-processing of the IRDIS images with the Vortex Imaging Processing (VIP) package to derive a robust astrometric measurement for the four planets. This includes the identification and careful evaluation of the different contributions to the error budget, including systematic errors. Combining our astrometric measurements with the ones previously published in the literature, we constrain the orbital parameters of the four planets using PyAstrOFit, our new open-source python package dedicated to orbital fitting using Bayesian inference with Monte-Carlo Markov Chain sampling. Results: We report the astrometric positions for epoch 2014.93 with an accuracy down to 2.0 mas, mainly limited by the astrometric calibration of IRDIS. For each planet, we derive the posterior probability density functions for the six Keplerian elements and identify sets of highly probable orbits. For planet d, there is clear evidence for nonzero eccentricity (e 0.35), without completely excluding solutions with smaller eccentricities. The three other planets are consistent with circular orbits, although their probability distributions spread beyond e = 0.2, and show a peak at e ≃ 0.1 for planet e. The four planets have consistent inclinations of approximately 30° with respect to the sky

An extrasolar planetary system with three Neptune-mass planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Lovis, Christophe; Mayor, Michel; Pepe, Francesco; Alibert, Yann; Benz, Willy; Bouchy, François; Correia, Alexandre C M; Laskar, Jacques; Mordasini, Christoph; Queloz, Didier; Santos, Nuno C; Udry, Stéphane; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Sivan, Jean-Pierre

2006-05-18

Over the past two years, the search for low-mass extrasolar planets has led to the detection of seven so-called 'hot Neptunes' or 'super-Earths' around Sun-like stars. These planets have masses 5-20 times larger than the Earth and are mainly found on close-in orbits with periods of 2-15 days. Here we report a system of three Neptune-mass planets with periods of 8.67, 31.6 and 197 days, orbiting the nearby star HD 69830. This star was already known to show an infrared excess possibly caused by an asteroid belt within 1 au (the Sun-Earth distance). Simulations show that the system is in a dynamically stable configuration. Theoretical calculations favour a mainly rocky composition for both inner planets, while the outer planet probably has a significant gaseous envelope surrounding its rocky/icy core; the outer planet orbits within the habitable zone of this star.

Predictions for shepherding planets in scattered light images of debris disks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodigas, Timothy J.; Hinz, Philip M.; Malhotra, Renu

2014-01-01

Planets can affect debris disk structure by creating gaps, sharp edges, warps, and other potentially observable signatures. However, there is currently no simple way for observers to deduce a disk-shepherding planet's properties from the observed features of the disk. Here we present a single equation that relates a shepherding planet's maximum mass to the debris ring's observed width in scattered light, along with a procedure to estimate the planet's eccentricity and minimum semimajor axis. We accomplish this by performing dynamical N-body simulations of model systems containing a star, a single planet, and an exterior disk of parent bodies and dust grains to determine the resulting debris disk properties over a wide range of input parameters. We find that the relationship between planet mass and debris disk width is linear, with increasing planet mass producing broader debris rings. We apply our methods to five imaged debris rings to constrain the putative planet masses and orbits in each system. Observers can use our empirically derived equation as a guide for future direct imaging searches for planets in debris disk systems. In the fortuitous case of an imaged planet orbiting interior to an imaged disk, the planet's maximum mass can be estimated independent of atmospheric models.

Faktor Yang Mendorong Konsumen Membeli Produk Planet Surf

OpenAIRE

Nugraheni, Aninda

2014-01-01

Era Global kini memberikan persaingan ketat bagi beberapa merek produk dalam memasarkan produk. Hal mendasar dalam pemasaran produk dengan promosi yang dilakukan. Beberapa produk lokal dapat terkalahkan oleh merek produk luar. Penelitian ini mengenai produk Planet Surf yang merupakan merek luar mempunyai posisioning produk surfing atau beach wear. Planet Surf menjadi pilihan anak muda karena fashionable dan up-to-date. Planet Surf merupakan toko yang menjual pakaian, sepatu, tas, dompet, d...

Earth-based planet finders power up

Science.gov (United States)

Clery, Daniel

2018-01-01

NASA's Kepler spacecraft has racked up thousands of exoplanet discoveries since its launch in 2009, but before Kepler, the workhorses of exoplanet identification were ground-based instruments that measure tiny stellar wobbles caused by the gravity of an orbiting planet. They are now undergoing a quiet renaissance. The new generation of these devices may be precise enough to find a true Earth twin: a planet with the same mass as ours, orbiting a sunlike star once a year. That's something Kepler—sensitive to planet size, but not mass—can't do. Over the past few months, two new third-generation instruments have opened their eyes to the sky and nearly two dozen others are either under construction or have recently begun service.

ON THE VARIATION OF ZONAL GRAVITY COEFFICIENTS OF A GIANT PLANET CAUSED BY ITS DEEP ZONAL FLOWS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kong Dali; Zhang Keke; Schubert, Gerald

2012-01-01

Rapidly rotating giant planets are usually marked by the existence of strong zonal flows at the cloud level. If the zonal flow is sufficiently deep and strong, it can produce hydrostatic-related gravitational anomalies through distortion of the planet's shape. This paper determines the zonal gravity coefficients, J 2n , n = 1, 2, 3, ..., via an analytical method taking into account rotation-induced shape changes by assuming that a planet has an effective uniform density and that the zonal flows arise from deep convection and extend along cylinders parallel to the rotation axis. Two different but related hydrostatic models are considered. When a giant planet is in rigid-body rotation, the exact solution of the problem using oblate spheroidal coordinates is derived, allowing us to compute the value of its zonal gravity coefficients J-bar 2n , n=1,2,3,..., without making any approximation. When the deep zonal flow is sufficiently strong, we develop a general perturbation theory for estimating the variation of the zonal gravity coefficients, ΔJ 2n =J 2n -J-bar 2n , n=1,2,3,..., caused by the effect of the deep zonal flows for an arbitrarily rapidly rotating planet. Applying the general theory to Jupiter, we find that the deep zonal flow could contribute up to 0.3% of the J 2 coefficient and 0.7% of J 4 . It is also found that the shape-driven harmonics at the 10th zonal gravity coefficient become dominant, i.e., ΔJ 2n >=J-bar 2n for n ≥ 5.

Planet-induced Stellar Pulsations in HAT-P-2's Eccentric System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wit, Julien de; Lewis, Nikole K.; Knutson, Heather A.; Batygin, Konstantin; Fuller, Jim; Antoci, Victoria; Fulton, Benjamin J.; Laughlin, Gregory; Deming, Drake; Shporer, Avi; Cowan, Nicolas B.; Agol, Eric; Burrows, Adam S.; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Langton, Jonathan; Showman, Adam P.

2017-01-01

Extrasolar planets on eccentric short-period orbits provide a laboratory in which to study radiative and tidal interactions between a planet and its host star under extreme forcing conditions. Studying such systems probes how the planet’s atmosphere redistributes the time-varying heat flux from its host and how the host star responds to transient tidal distortion. Here, we report the insights into the planet–star interactions in HAT-P-2's eccentric planetary system gained from the analysis of ∼350 hr of 4.5 μ m observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope . The observations show no sign of orbit-to-orbit variability nor of orbital evolution of the eccentric planetary companion, HAT-P-2 b. The extensive coverage allows us to better differentiate instrumental systematics from the transient heating of HAT-P-2 b’s 4.5 μ m photosphere and yields the detection of stellar pulsations with an amplitude of approximately 40 ppm. These pulsation modes correspond to exact harmonics of the planet’s orbital frequency, indicative of a tidal origin. Transient tidal effects can excite pulsation modes in the envelope of a star, but, to date, such pulsations had only been detected in highly eccentric stellar binaries. Current stellar models are unable to reproduce HAT-P-2's pulsations, suggesting that our understanding of the interactions at play in this system is incomplete.

UV DRIVEN EVAPORATION OF CLOSE-IN PLANETS: ENERGY-LIMITED, RECOMBINATION-LIMITED, AND PHOTON-LIMITED FLOWS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Owen, James E.; Alvarez, Marcelo A.

2016-01-01

We have investigated the evaporation of close-in exoplanets irradiated by ionizing photons. We find that the properties of the flow are controlled by the ratio of the recombination time to the flow timescale. When the recombination timescale is short compared to the flow timescale, the flow is in approximate local ionization equilibrium with a thin ionization front where the photon mean free path is short compared to the flow scale. In this “recombination-limited” flow the mass-loss scales roughly with the square root of the incident flux. When the recombination time is long compared to the flow timescale the ionization front becomes thick and encompasses the entire flow with the mass-loss rate scaling linearly with flux. If the planet's potential is deep, then the flow is approximately “energy-limited”; however, if the planet's potential is shallow, then we identify a new limiting mass-loss regime, which we term “photon-limited.” In this scenario, the mass-loss rate is purely limited by the incoming flux of ionizing photons. We have developed a new numerical approach that takes into account the frequency dependence of the incoming ionizing spectrum and performed a large suite of 1D simulations to characterize UV driven mass-loss around low-mass planets. We find that the flow is “recombination-limited” at high fluxes but becomes “energy-limited” at low fluxes; however, the transition is broad occurring over several orders of magnitude in flux. Finally, we point out that the transitions between the different flow types do not occur at a single flux value but depend on the planet's properties, with higher-mass planets becoming “energy-limited” at lower fluxes

Phase density of neutrons emitted by an atmosphereless planet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goryachev, B.I.; Isakov, A.I.; Lin'kova, N.V.

1986-01-01

An approach to calculation of small planet neutron emission characteristics is developed. Using artificial satellites and space probes information on the planet surface may be obtained by analyzing neutron emission being the result of cosmic rays effect. Available calculation methods permit to calculate angular distribution and neutron flux F 0 from planet surface as a function of its surface layer chemical composition. Neutron flux measured by a sattelite and F 0 flux may be connected by a function describing neuton phase density near the planet

Transiting exoplanets: From planet statistics to their physical nature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rauer H.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The colloquium "Detection and Dynamics of Transiting Exoplanets" was held at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence and discussed the status of transiting exoplanet investigations in a 4.5 day meeting. Topics addressed ranged from planet detection, a discussion on planet composition and interior structure, atmospheres of hot-Jupiter planets, up to the effect of tides and the dynamical evolution of planetary systems. Here, I give a summary of the recent developments of transiting planet detections and investigations discussed at this meeting.

USING SCHUMANN RESONANCE MEASUREMENTS FOR CONSTRAINING THE WATER ABUNDANCE ON THE GIANT PLANETS-IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SOLAR SYSTEM'S FORMATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simoes, Fernando; Pfaff, Robert; Klenzing, Jeffrey; Freudenreich, Henry; Bromund, Kenneth; Martin, Steven; Rowland, Douglas [NASA/GSFC, Heliophysics Science Division, Space Weather Laboratory (Code 674), Greenbelt, MD (United States); Hamelin, Michel; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques [LATMOS/IPSL, UPMC, Paris (France); Beghin, Christian; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre [LPC2E, CNRS/Universite d' Orleans (France); Grard, Rejean [ESA/ESTEC, Research Scientific Support Department, Noordwijk (Netherlands); Sentman, Davis [Institute of Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK (United States); Takahashi, Yukihiro [Department of Geophysics, Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan); Yair, Yoav [Department Life Natural Sciences, Open University of Israel, Raanana (Israel)

2012-05-01

The formation and evolution of the solar system is closely related to the abundance of volatiles, namely water, ammonia, and methane in the protoplanetary disk. Accurate measurement of volatiles in the solar system is therefore important for understanding not only the nebular hypothesis and origin of life but also planetary cosmogony as a whole. In this work, we propose a new remote sensing technique to infer the outer planets' water content by measuring Tremendously and Extremely Low Frequency (TLF-ELF) electromagnetic wave characteristics (Schumann resonances) excited by lightning in their gaseous envelopes. Schumann resonance detection can be potentially used for constraining the uncertainty of volatiles of the giant planets, mainly Uranus and Neptune, because such TLF-ELF wave signatures are closely related to the electric conductivity profile and water content.

Tandem planet formation for solar system-like planetary systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusuke Imaeda

2017-03-01

Full Text Available We present a new united theory of planet formation, which includes magneto-rotational instability (MRI and porous aggregation of solid particles in a consistent way. We show that the “tandem planet formation” regime is likely to result in solar system-like planetary systems. In the tandem planet formation regime, planetesimals form at two distinct sites: the outer and inner edges of the MRI suppressed region. The former is likely to be the source of the outer gas giants, and the latter is the source for the inner volatile-free rocky planets. Our study spans disks with a various range of accretion rates, and we find that tandem planet formation can occur for M˙=10−7.3-10−6.9M⊙yr−1. The rocky planets form between 0.4–2 AU, while the icy planets form between 6–30 AU; no planets form in 2–6 AU region for any accretion rate. This is consistent with the gap in the solid component distribution in the solar system, which has only a relatively small Mars and a very small amount of material in the main asteroid belt from 2–6 AU. The tandem regime is consistent with the idea that the Earth was initially formed as a completely volatile-free planet. Water and other volatile elements came later through the accretion of icy material by occasional inward scattering from the outer regions. Reactions between reductive minerals, such as schreibersite (Fe3P, and water are essential to supply energy and nutrients for primitive life on Earth.

Exploring Mercury: The Iron Planet

OpenAIRE

Stevenson, David J.

2004-01-01

Planet Mercury is both difficult to observe and difficult to reach by spacecraft. Just one spacecraft, Mariner 10, flew by the planet 30 years ago. An upcoming NASA mission, MESSENGER, will be launched this year and will go into orbit around Mercury at the end of this decade. A European mission is planned for the following decade. It's worth going there because Mercury is a strange body and the history of planetary exploration has taught us that strangeness gives us insight into planetary ori...

Atmospheres of the terrestrial planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kivelson, M.G.; Schubert, G.

1986-01-01

Properties of the planets are identified - such as size, spin rate, and distance from the sun - that are important in understanding the characteristics of their atmospheres. Venus, earth and Mars have surface-temperature differences only partly explained by the decrease of solar radiation flux with distance from the sun. More significant effects arise from the variations in the degree to which the atmospheres act as absorbers of planetary thermal reradiation. Atmospheric circulation on a global scale also varies markedly among the three planets. 5 references

The earth planet as a repository of life: a common planet or a rarity in the universe?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Portilla, Jose Gregorio

2011-01-01

Life is based on elements that have their origins within the centers of stars. Then organic molecules are formed in the interstellar medium. They can make part of planets some of them appropriate for the origin and prosperity of life. Extra solar planets are currently discovered and observed by astronomers and are abundant, but extraterrestrial life or at least complex life

GAP CLEARING BY PLANETS IN A COLLISIONAL DEBRIS DISK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nesvold, Erika R. [Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County 1000 Hilltop Circle Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States); Kuchner, Marc J., E-mail: Erika.Nesvold@umbc.edu, E-mail: Marc.Kuchner@nasa.gov [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, Code 667 Greenbelt, MD 21230 (United States)

2015-01-10

We apply our 3D debris disk model, SMACK, to simulate a planet on a circular orbit near a ring of planetesimals that are experiencing destructive collisions. Previous simulations of a planet opening a gap in a collisionless debris disk have found that the width of the gap scales as the planet mass to the 2/7th power (α = 2/7). We find that gap sizes in a collisional disk still obey a power law scaling with planet mass, but that the index α of the power law depends on the age of the system t relative to the collisional timescale t {sub coll} of the disk by α = 0.32(t/t {sub coll}){sup –0.04}, with inferred planet masses up to five times smaller than those predicted by the classical gap law. The increased gap sizes likely stem from the interaction between collisions and the mean motion resonances near the chaotic zone. We investigate the effects of the initial eccentricity distribution of the disk particles and find a negligible effect on the gap size at Jovian planet masses, since collisions tend to erase memory of the initial particle eccentricity distributions. Finally, we find that the presence of Trojan analogs is a potentially powerful diagnostic of planets in the mass range ∼1-10 M {sub Jup}. We apply our model to place new upper limits on planets around Fomalhaut, HR 4796 A, HD 202628, HD 181327, and β Pictoris.

GAP CLEARING BY PLANETS IN A COLLISIONAL DEBRIS DISK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nesvold, Erika R.; Kuchner, Marc J.

2015-01-01

We apply our 3D debris disk model, SMACK, to simulate a planet on a circular orbit near a ring of planetesimals that are experiencing destructive collisions. Previous simulations of a planet opening a gap in a collisionless debris disk have found that the width of the gap scales as the planet mass to the 2/7th power (α = 2/7). We find that gap sizes in a collisional disk still obey a power law scaling with planet mass, but that the index α of the power law depends on the age of the system t relative to the collisional timescale t coll of the disk by α = 0.32(t/t coll ) –0.04 , with inferred planet masses up to five times smaller than those predicted by the classical gap law. The increased gap sizes likely stem from the interaction between collisions and the mean motion resonances near the chaotic zone. We investigate the effects of the initial eccentricity distribution of the disk particles and find a negligible effect on the gap size at Jovian planet masses, since collisions tend to erase memory of the initial particle eccentricity distributions. Finally, we find that the presence of Trojan analogs is a potentially powerful diagnostic of planets in the mass range ∼1-10 M Jup . We apply our model to place new upper limits on planets around Fomalhaut, HR 4796 A, HD 202628, HD 181327, and β Pictoris

The interiors of the giant planets - 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smoluchowski, R.

1983-01-01

The last few years brought progress in understanding the interiors of the giant planets especially of the two larger ones which have been visited by Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft. An analysis of the formation of the giant planets also helped to clarify certain important common features. The presently available model of Jupiter is still based on certain somewhat bothersome approximations but it appears to satisfy the main observational constraints. Saturn's interior is much better understood than it was previously although the quantitative aspects of the role of the miscibility gap in the hydrogen-helium system have not yet been entirely resolved. Much attention has been directed at the interiors of Uranus and Neptune and the outstanding question appears to be the location and the amount of ices and methane present in their outer layers. Both the two- and the three-layer models are moderately successful. Serious difficulties arise from the considerable uncertainties concerning the rotational periods of both planets. Also the estimates of the internal heat fluxes and of the magnetic fields of both planets are not sufficiently certain. It is hoped that the forthcoming flyby of these two planets by a Voyager spacecraft will provide important new data for a future study of their interiors. (Auth.)

Transiting circumbinary planets Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Welsh, William F.; Orosz, Jerome A.; Carter, Joshua A.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.; Ford, Eric B.; Lissauer, Jack J.; Prša, Andrej; Quinn, Samuel N.; Ragozzine, Darin; Short, Donald R.; Torres, Guillermo; Winn, Joshua N.; Doyle, Laurance R.; Barclay, Thomas; Batalha, Natalie; Bloemen, Steven; Brugamyer, Erik; Buchhave, Lars A.; Caldwell, Caroline; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Christiansen, Jessie L.; Ciardi, David R.; Cochran, William D.; Endl, Michael; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Gautier III, Thomas N.; Gilliland, Ronald L.; Haas, Michael R.; Hall, Jennifer R.; Holman, Matthew J.; Howard, Andrew W.; Howell, Steve B.; Isaacson, Howard; Jenkins, Jon M.; Klaus, Todd C.; Latham, David W.; Li, Jie; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Mazeh, Tsevi; Quintana, Elisa V.; Robertson, Paul; Shporer, Avi; Steffen, Jason H.; Windmiller, Gur; Koch, David G.; Borucki, William J.

2012-01-11

Most Sun-like stars in the Galaxy reside in gravitationally-bound pairs of stars called 'binary stars'. While long anticipated, the existence of a 'circumbinary planet' orbiting such a pair of normal stars was not definitively established until the discovery of Kepler-16. Incontrovertible evidence was provided by the miniature eclipses ('transits') of the stars by the planet. However, questions remain about the prevalence of circumbinary planets and their range of orbital and physical properties. Here we present two additional transiting circumbinary planets, Kepler-34 and Kepler-35. Each is a low-density gas giant planet on an orbit closely aligned with that of its parent stars. Kepler-34 orbits two Sun-like stars every 289 days, while Kepler-35 orbits a pair of smaller stars (89% and 81% of the Sun's mass) every 131 days. Due to the orbital motion of the stars, the planets experience large multi-periodic variations in incident stellar radiation. The observed rate of circumbinary planets implies > ~1% of close binary stars have giant planets in nearly coplanar orbits, yielding a Galactic population of at least several million.

Innocent Bystanders: Orbital Dynamics of Exomoons During Planet–Planet Scattering

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Yu-Cian; Raymond, Sean N.; Nicholson, Philip D.; Lunine, Jonathan I.

2018-01-01

Planet–planet scattering is the leading mechanism to explain the broad eccentricity distribution of observed giant exoplanets. Here we study the orbital stability of primordial giant planet moons in this scenario. We use N-body simulations including realistic oblateness and evolving spin evolution for the giant planets. We find that the vast majority (∼80%–90% across all our simulations) of orbital parameter space for moons is destabilized. There is a strong radial dependence, as moons past ∼ 0.1 {R}{Hill} are systematically removed. Closer-in moons on Galilean-moon-like orbits (<0.04 R Hill) have a good (∼20%–40%) chance of survival. Destabilized moons may undergo a collision with the star or a planet, be ejected from the system, be captured by another planet, be ejected but still orbiting its free-floating host planet, or survive on heliocentric orbits as “planets.” The survival rate of moons increases with the host planet mass but is independent of the planet’s final (post-scattering) orbits. Based on our simulations, we predict the existence of an abundant galactic population of free-floating (former) moons.

TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION FROM AN ANNULUS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walsh, Kevin J.; Levison, Harold F., E-mail: kwalsh@boulder.swri.edu [Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut St. Suite 300, Boulder, CO 80302 (United States)

2016-09-01

It has been shown that some aspects of the terrestrial planets can be explained, particularly the Earth/Mars mass ratio, when they form from a truncated disk with an outer edge near 1.0 au. This has been previously modeled starting from an intermediate stage of growth utilizing pre-formed planetary embryos. We present simulations that were designed to test this idea by following the growth process from km-sized objects located between 0.7 and 1.0 au up to terrestrial planets. The simulations explore initial conditions where the solids in the disk are planetesimals with radii initially between 3 and 300 km, alternately including effects from a dissipating gaseous solar nebula and collisional fragmentation. We use a new Lagrangian code known as LIPAD, which is a particle-based code that models the fragmentation, accretion, and dynamical evolution of a large number of planetesimals, and can model the entire growth process from km-sizes up to planets. A suite of large (∼ Mars mass) planetary embryos is complete in only ∼1 Myr, containing most of the system mass. A quiescent period then persists for 10–20 Myr characterized by slow diffusion of the orbits and continued accretion of the remaining planetesimals. This is interrupted by an instability that leads to embryos crossing orbits and embryo–embryo impacts that eventually produce the final set of planets. While this evolution is different than that found in other works exploring an annulus, the final planetary systems are similar, with roughly the correct number of planets and good Mars-analogs.

Lonely life of a double planet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pearson, Jerome

1988-08-25

The paper concerns extraterrestrial intelligence, and the requirements for a terrestrial planet and life. The effect of the Moon on the Earth, the presence of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, the Earth's magnetic field, and the Earth's molten core, the distance between the sun and Earth where life is possible, and estimates of the number of habitable planets in the galaxies, are all discussed. (U.K.).

Small flow rate can supply inwardly migrating shortest-period planets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taylor S.F.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The number of exoplanets found with periods as short as one day and less was surprising given how fast these planets had been expected to migrate into the star due to the tides raised on the star by planets at such close distances. It has been seen as improbable that we would find planets in such a small final fraction of their lives [1]. The favored solution has been that the tidal dissipation is much weaker than expected, which would mean that the final infall would be a larger fraction of the planets’ life. We find no reason, however, to exclude the explanation that a small number of planets are continuously sent migrating inwards such that these planets indeed are in the last fraction of their lives. Following the observation that the distribution of medium planets disfavors tidal dissipation being significantly weaker than has been found from observations of binary stars [2], we now show that the numbers of planets in such a “flow” of excess planets migrating inwards is low enough that even depletion of the three-day pileup is a plausible source. Then the shortest period occurrence distribution would be shaped by planets continuously being sent into the star, which may explain the depletion of the pileup in the Kepler field relative to the solar neighborhood [3]. Because Kepler observes above the galactic plan, [3] suggested the Kepler field may include an older population of stars. The tidal dissipation strength in stars due to giant planets may be not greatly weaker than it is in binary stars.

Protected urban planet

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pereira Roders, A.R.; Veldpaus, L.; Verbruggen, R.C.

2012-01-01

PUP, abbreviation to Protected Urban Planet, is the first tool developed for visualizing, mapping and contributing to information exchange on the evolution of protected urban areas worldwide. Besides locating them, it also provides communities with means to disseminate and raise awareness for their

Testing the Mirror World Hypothesis for the Close-In Extrasolar Planets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foot, R.

2004-01-01

Because planets are not expected to be able to form close to stars due to the high temperatures, it has been suggested that the observed close orbiting (∼ 0.05 AU) large mass planets (∼ M J ) might be mirror worlds - planets composed predominately of mirror matter. The accretion of ordinary matter onto the mirror planet (from e.g. the solar wind from the host star) will make the mirror planet opaque to ordinary radiation with an effective radius R p . It was argued in a previous paper, that this radius was potentially large enough to explain the measured size of the first transiting close-in extrasolar planet, HD209458b. Furthermore, made the rough prediction: R p ∝ √ (T s /M p ), where T s is the surface temperature of the ordinary matter in the mirror planet and M p is the mass of the planet (the latter dependence on M p being the more robust prediction). We compare this prediction with the recently discovered transiting planets, OGLE-TR-56b and OGLE-TR- 113b. (author)

The capture rate of free-floating planets in our galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Goulinski, N.; Ribak, E. N.

2017-09-01

We propose that planetary nebulae and supernova remnants may constitute a significant source of free-floating planets. With a large population of free-floating planets, the rate at which these planets get captured by planetary systems may be non-negligible. We predict that about one out of every 100 sub-solar stars are expected to experience a capture of a free-floating planet during their lifetime. The capture cross section calculated through three-body scattering simulations in vacuum conditions. Since planetary systems usually contain multiple planets, and dissipation processes where not included in the simulation, the capture rate may be higher.

The Fate of Close-in Planets: Tidal or Magnetic Migration?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strugarek, A.; Bolmont, E.; Mathis, S.; Brun, A. S.; Réville, V. [Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, CEA/Irfu Université Paris-Diderot CNRS/INSU, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Gallet, F.; Charbonnel, C., E-mail: antoine.strugarek@cea.fr [Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Versoix (Switzerland)

2017-10-01

Planets in close-in orbits interact magnetically and tidally with their host stars. These interactions lead to a net torque that makes close-in planets migrate inward or outward depending on their orbital distance. We systematically compare the strength of magnetic and tidal torques for typical observed star–planet systems (T-Tauri and hot Jupiter, M-dwarf and Earth-like planet, K star and hot Jupiter) based on state-of-the-art scaling laws. We find that depending on the characteristics of the system, tidal or magnetic effects can dominate. For very close-in planets, we find that both torques can make a planet migrate on a timescale as small as 10–100 thousands of years. Both effects thus have to be taken into account when predicting the evolution of compact systems.

Eating a planet and spinning up

Science.gov (United States)

Qureshi, Ahmed; Naoz, Smadar; Shkolnik, Evgenya L.

2018-01-01

One of the predictions of high eccentricity planetary migration is that many planets will end up plunging into their host stars. We investigate the consequence of planetary mergers on their stellar hosts’ spin-period. Energy and angular momentum conservation yield that a planet consumption by a star will spin-up of the star. We find that our calculations align with the observed bifurcation in the stellar spin-period in young clusters. After a Sun-like star has eaten a planet, it will then, spin down due to magnetic braking, consistent with the observed lack of fast rotators in old clusters. The agreement between the calculations presented here and the observed spin-period of stars in young clusters provides circumstantial evidence that planetary accretion onto their host stars is a generic feature in planetary-system evolution.

Taking of history

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langebæk, Rikke

2007-01-01

the smartest student. So the more familiar a student can become with these situations the better. Since september 2006, veterinary students at Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, have received training in the discipline of history taking, using innovative educational methods: Online......, the students won’t be intimidated by the situation, as they are already familiar with the ‘client’. The ‘client’/teacher must be able to perform as different types of clients to make the sessions more interesting, colourful and fun. During these Live Role sessions, the students will get help and good advice......Learning how to take a history is an extremely important discipline in the education of veterinary students. In our opinion the fact that this discipline is often neglected in traditional teaching is a big mistake. The mere thought of facing a real client can be almost paralysing to even...

Changes in the metallicity of gas giant planets due to pebble accretion

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, R. J.; Nayakshin, S.

2018-06-01

We run numerical simulations to study the accretion of gas and dust grains on to gas giant planets embedded into massive protoplanetary discs. The outcome is found to depend on the disc cooling rate, planet mass, grain size, and irradiative feedback from the planet. If radiative cooling is efficient, planets accrete both gas and pebbles rapidly, open a gap, and usually become massive brown dwarfs. In the inefficient cooling case, gas is too hot to accrete on to the planet but pebble accretion continues and the planets migrate inward rapidly. Radiative feedback from the planet tends to suppress gas accretion. Our simulations predict that metal enrichment of planets by dust grain accretion inversely correlates with the final planet mass, in accordance with the observed trend in the inferred bulk composition of Solar system and exosolar giant planets. To account for observations, however, as many as ˜30-50 per cent of the dust mass should be in the form of large grains.

Planets: Integrated Services for Digital Preservation

OpenAIRE

Farquhar, Adam; Hockx-Yu, Helen

2007-01-01

The Planets Project is developing services and technology to address core challenges in digital preservation. This article introduces the motivation for this work, describes the extensible technical architecture and places the Planets approach into the context of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model. It also provides a scenario demonstrating Planets’ usefulness in solving real-life digital preservation problems and an overview of the project’s progress to date.

Monitoring the High-Energy Radiation Environment of Exoplanets Around Low-mass Stars with SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat)

Science.gov (United States)

Shkolnik, Evgenya L.; Ardila, David; Barman, Travis; Beasley, Matthew; Bowman, Judd D.; Gorjian, Varoujan; Jacobs, Daniel; Jewell, April; Llama, Joe; Meadows, Victoria; Nikzad, Shouleh; Scowen, Paul; Swain, Mark; Zellem, Robert

2018-01-01

Roughly seventy-five billion M dwarfs in our galaxy host at least one small planet in the habitable zone (HZ). The stellar ultraviolet (UV) radiation from M dwarfs is strong and highly variable, and impacts planetary atmospheric loss, composition and habitability. These effects are amplified by the extreme proximity of their HZs (0.1–0.4 AU). Knowing the UV environments of M dwarf planets will be crucial to understanding their atmospheric composition and a key parameter in discriminating between biological and abiotic sources for observed biosignatures. The Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) will be a 6U CubeSat devoted to photometric monitoring of M stars in the far-UV and near-UV, measuring the time-dependent spectral slope, intensity and evolution of M dwarf stellar UV radiation. For each target, SPARCS will observe continuously over at least one complete stellar rotation (5 - 45 days). SPARCS will also advance UV detector technology by flying high quantum efficiency, UV-optimized detectors developed at JPL. These Delta-doped detectors have a long history of deployment demonstrating greater than five times the quantum efficiency of the detectors used by GALEX. SPARCS will pave the way for their application in missions like LUVOIR or HabEx, including interim UV-capable missions. SPARCS will also be capable of ‘target-of-opportunity’ UV observations for the rocky planets in M dwarf HZs soon to be discovered by NASA’s TESS mission, providing the needed UV context for the first habitable planets that JWST will characterize.Acknowledgements: Funding for SPARCS is provided by NASA’s Astrophysics Research and Analysis program, NNH16ZDA001N.

Transiting circumbinary planets Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b.

Science.gov (United States)

Welsh, William F; Orosz, Jerome A; Carter, Joshua A; Fabrycky, Daniel C; Ford, Eric B; Lissauer, Jack J; Prša, Andrej; Quinn, Samuel N; Ragozzine, Darin; Short, Donald R; Torres, Guillermo; Winn, Joshua N; Doyle, Laurance R; Barclay, Thomas; Batalha, Natalie; Bloemen, Steven; Brugamyer, Erik; Buchhave, Lars A; Caldwell, Caroline; Caldwell, Douglas A; Christiansen, Jessie L; Ciardi, David R; Cochran, William D; Endl, Michael; Fortney, Jonathan J; Gautier, Thomas N; Gilliland, Ronald L; Haas, Michael R; Hall, Jennifer R; Holman, Matthew J; Howard, Andrew W; Howell, Steve B; Isaacson, Howard; Jenkins, Jon M; Klaus, Todd C; Latham, David W; Li, Jie; Marcy, Geoffrey W; Mazeh, Tsevi; Quintana, Elisa V; Robertson, Paul; Shporer, Avi; Steffen, Jason H; Windmiller, Gur; Koch, David G; Borucki, William J

2012-01-11

Most Sun-like stars in the Galaxy reside in gravitationally bound pairs of stars (binaries). Although long anticipated, the existence of a 'circumbinary planet' orbiting such a pair of normal stars was not definitively established until the discovery of the planet transiting (that is, passing in front of) Kepler-16. Questions remained, however, about the prevalence of circumbinary planets and their range of orbital and physical properties. Here we report two additional transiting circumbinary planets: Kepler-34 (AB)b and Kepler-35 (AB)b, referred to here as Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b, respectively. Each is a low-density gas-giant planet on an orbit closely aligned with that of its parent stars. Kepler-34 b orbits two Sun-like stars every 289 days, whereas Kepler-35 b orbits a pair of smaller stars (89% and 81% of the Sun's mass) every 131 days. The planets experience large multi-periodic variations in incident stellar radiation arising from the orbital motion of the stars. The observed rate of circumbinary planets in our sample implies that more than ∼1% of close binary stars have giant planets in nearly coplanar orbits, yielding a Galactic population of at least several million.

Detecting planets around stars in nearby galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Covone, G; de Ritis, R; Dominik, M; Marino, AA

The only way to detect planets around stars at distances greater than or similar to several kpc is by (photometric or astrometric) microlensing (mu L) observations. In this paper, we show that the capability of photometric mu L extends to the detection of signals caused by planets around stars in

[Crossing borders. The motivation of extreme sportsmen].

Science.gov (United States)

Opaschowski, H W

2005-08-01

In his article "Crossing borders -- the motivation of extreme sportsmen" the author gets systematically to the bottom of the question of why extreme sportsmen voluntarily take risks and endanger themselves. Within the scope of a representative sampling 217 extreme sportsmen -- from the fields of mountain biking, trekking and free climbing, canoyning, river rafting and deep sea diving, paragliding, parachuting, bungee jumping and survival training -- give information about their personal motives. What fascinates them? The attraction of risk? The search for sensation? Or the drop out of everyday life? And what comes afterwards? Does in the end the whole life become an extreme sport? Fact is: they live extremely, because they want to move beyond well-trodden paths. To escape the boredom of everyday life they are searching for the kick, the thrill, the no-limit experience. It's about calculated risk between altitude flight and deep sea adventure.

NEAR: Low-mass Planets in α Cen with VISIR

Science.gov (United States)

Kasper, M.; Arsenault, R.; Käufl, H.-U.; Jakob, G.; Fuenteseca, E.; Riquelme, M.; Siebenmorgen, R.; Sterzik, M.; Zins, G.; Ageorges, N.; Gutruf, S.; Reutlinger, A.; Kampf, D.; Absil, O.; Carlomagno, B.; Guyon, O.; Klupar, P.; Mawet, D.; Ruane, G.; Karlsson, M.; Pantin, E.; Dohlen, K.

2017-09-01

ESO, in collaboration with the Breakthrough Initiatives, is working to modify the Very Large Telescope mid-IR imager (VISIR) to greatly enhance its ability to search for potentially habitable planets around both components of the binary Alpha Centauri, part of the closest stellar system to the Earth. Much of the funding for the NEAR (New Earths in the Alpha Cen Region) project is provided by the Breakthrough Initiatives, and ESO mostly provides staff and observing time. The concept combines adaptive optics using the deformable secondary mirror at Unit Telescope 4, a new annular groove phase mask (AGPM) coronagraph optimised for the most sensitive spectral bandpass in the N-band, and a novel internal chopper system for noise filtering based on a concept for longer wavelengths invented by the microwave pioneer Robert Dicke. The NEAR experiment is relevant to the mid-infrared METIS instrument on the Extremely Large Telescope, as the knowledge gained and proof of concept will be transferable.

The Giant Planet Satellite Exospheres

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, Melissa A.

2014-01-01

Exospheres are relatively common in the outer solar system among the moons of the gas giant planets. They span the range from very tenuous, surface-bounded exospheres (e.g., Rhea, Dione) to quite robust exospheres with exobase above the surface (e.g., lo, Triton), and include many intermediate cases (e.g., Europa, Ganymede, Enceladus). The exospheres of these moons exhibit an interesting variety of sources, from surface sputtering, to frost sublimation, to active plumes, and also well illustrate another common characteristic of the outer planet satellite exospheres, namely, that the primary species often exists both as a gas in atmosphere, and a condensate (frost or ice) on the surface. As described by Yelle et al. (1995) for Triton, "The interchange of matter between gas and solid phases on these bodies has profound effects on the physical state of the surface and the structure of the atmosphere." A brief overview of the exospheres of the outer planet satellites will be presented, including an inter-comparison of these satellites exospheres with each other, and with the exospheres of the Moon and Mercury.

PlanetVac: Sample Return with a Puff of Gas

Science.gov (United States)

Zacny, K.; Mueller, R.; Betts, B. H.

2014-12-01

PlanetVac is a regolith sample acquisition mission concept that uses compressed gas to blow material from the surface up a pneumatic tube and directly into a sample return container. The PlanetVac sampling device is built into the lander legs to eliminate cost and complexity associated with robotic arms and scoops. The pneumatic system can effectively capture fine and coarse regolith, including small pebbles. It is well suited for landed missions to Mars, asteroids, or the Moon. Because of the low pressures on all those bodies, the technique is extremely efficient. If losses are kept to minimum, 1 gram of compressed gas could efficiently lift 6000 grams of soil. To demonstrate this approach, the PlanetVac lander with four legs and two sampling tubes has been designed, integrated, and tested. Vacuum chamber testing was performed using two well-known planetary regolith simulants: Mars Mojave Simulant (MMS) and lunar regolith simulant JSC-1A. One of the two sampling systems was connected to a mockup of an earth return rocket while the second sampling system was connected to a lander deck mounted instrument (clear box for easy viewing). The tests included a drop from a height of approximately 50 cm onto the bed of regolith, deployment of sampling tubes into the regolith, pneumatic acquisition of sample into an instrument (sample container) and the rocket, and the launch of the rocket. The demonstration has been successful and can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjJXvtQk6no. In most of the tests, 20 grams or more of sample was delivered to the 'instrument' and approximately 5 grams of regolith was delivered into a sampling chamber within the rocket. The gas lifting efficiency was calculated to be approximately 1000:1; that is 1 gram of gas lofted 1000 grams of regolith. Efficiencies in lower gravity environments are expected to be much higher. This successful, simple and lightweight sample capture demonstration paves the way to using such sampling system

Hydrothermal systems in small ocean planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Vance, Steve; Harnmeijer, Jelte; Kimura, Jun; Hussmann, Hauke; Demartin, Brian; Brown, J Michael

2007-12-01

We examine means for driving hydrothermal activity in extraterrestrial oceans on planets and satellites of less than one Earth mass, with implications for sustaining a low level of biological activity over geological timescales. Assuming ocean planets have olivine-dominated lithospheres, a model for cooling-induced thermal cracking shows how variation in planet size and internal thermal energy may drive variation in the dominant type of hydrothermal system-for example, high or low temperature system or chemically driven system. As radiogenic heating diminishes over time, progressive exposure of new rock continues to the current epoch. Where fluid-rock interactions propagate slowly into a deep brittle layer, thermal energy from serpentinization may be the primary cause of hydrothermal activity in small ocean planets. We show that the time-varying hydrostatic head of a tidally forced ice shell may drive hydrothermal fluid flow through the seafloor, which can generate moderate but potentially important heat through viscous interaction with the matrix of porous seafloor rock. Considering all presently known potential ocean planets-Mars, a number of icy satellites, Pluto, and other trans-neptunian objects-and applying Earth-like material properties and cooling rates, we find depths of circulation are more than an order of magnitude greater than in Earth. In Europa and Enceladus, tidal flexing may drive hydrothermal circulation and, in Europa, may generate heat on the same order as present-day radiogenic heat flux at Earth's surface. In all objects, progressive serpentinization generates heat on a globally averaged basis at a fraction of a percent of present-day radiogenic heating and hydrogen is produced at rates between 10(9) and 10(10) molecules cm(2) s(1).

THERMAL TIDES IN FLUID EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arras, Phil; Socrates, Aristotle

2010-01-01

Asynchronous rotation and orbital eccentricity lead to time-dependent irradiation of the close-in gas giant exoplanets-the hot Jupiters. This time-dependent surface heating gives rise to fluid motions which propagate throughout the planet. We investigate the ability of this 'thermal tide' to produce a quadrupole moment which can couple to the stellar gravitational tidal force. While previous investigations discussed planets with solid surfaces, here we focus on entirely fluid planets in order to understand gas giants with small cores. The Coriolis force, thermal diffusion, and self-gravity of the perturbations are ignored for simplicity. First, we examine the response to thermal forcing through analytic solutions of the fluid equations which treat the forcing frequency as a small parameter. In the 'equilibrium tide' limit of zero frequency, fluid motion is present but does not induce a quadrupole moment. In the next approximation, finite frequency corrections to the equilibrium tide do lead to a nonzero quadrupole moment, the sign of which torques the planet away from synchronous spin. We then numerically solve the boundary value problem for the thermally forced, linear response of a planet with neutrally stratified interior and a stably stratified envelope. The numerical results find quadrupole moments in agreement with the analytic non-resonant result at a sufficiently long forcing period. Surprisingly, in the range of forcing periods of 1-30 days, the induced quadrupole moments can be far larger than the analytic result due to response of internal gravity waves which propagate in the radiative envelope. We discuss the relevance of our results for the spin, eccentricity, and thermal evolution of hot Jupiters.

Hubble 2020: Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) Program