JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
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Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#2> cloud-free, hydrogen-rich atmospheres were ruled out with high confidence. This means that there appears to be no clear, extended atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1 b
I will never not be amazed that we can read the atmospheric spectra of exoplanets.
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#3NGL, my first thought was a planet full of beer and cheese.
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#4NGL, my first thought was a planet full of beer and cheese.
And nobody talking. Heaven.
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#5[deleted]
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#6Too bad the star is going to make observations within the habitable zone hard!
This problem also sounds like one that can be extrapolated into more systems as those planets are going to be close to the star by necessity…?
Frustrating that the resolving power of JWST is there even for those, but the star completely dominates the observations.
I wonder if they could perform analysis over time and apply statistical models to subtract solar output from the data, knowing the orbital periods etc. But that’s just me being a layman here.
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#7Too bad the star is going to make observations within the habitable zone hard! This problem also sounds like one that can be extrapolated into more systems as those planets are going to be close to the star by necessity…? Frustrating that the resolving power of JWST is there even for those, but the star completely dominates the observations. I wonder if they could perform analysis over time and apply statistical mode…
- "I wonder if they could perform analysis over time and apply statistical models to subtract solar output from the data, knowing the orbital periods etc. But that’s just me being a layman here."
They do that in the paper. That's the "secondary eclipse", where the planet goes behind the star and they subtract the difference.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/acf7c4 [open access]
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#8Given how much we know now about how inhospitable red dwarf star systems are, why are we continuing to focus on planets in such systems instead of planets in sun like stars?
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#9Given how much we know now about how inhospitable red dwarf star systems are, why are we continuing to focus on planets in such systems instead of planets in sun like stars?
As the article mentions, this system is unusual, in that it has three Earth-sized planets in its habitable zone.
Re: JWST's first spectrum of a TRAPPIST-1 planet
#10Given how much we know now about how inhospitable red dwarf star systems are, why are we continuing to focus on planets in such systems instead of planets in sun like stars?
I don't get the impression there's currently a bandwidth problem here that needs optimizing. It's also not completely clear how inhospitable to life they truly are. Being the most abundant type of star in the galaxy by far, it makes sense to study them very closely to at least rule out the potential for life.