Questions tagged [exoplanet]
Questions regarding planets that lie outside the Solar System.
516
questions
0
votes
0
answers
78
views
.fits Files for Exoplanets
I am learning to use AstroImageJ software. And using this software to plot transit graph for Exoplanet orbiting the star. I want to know from where can we find the .fits file of target star ? I tried ...
0
votes
0
answers
78
views
Planets around O-type stars [duplicate]
The paper https://arxiv.org/abs/0707.2895 says that solid planets up to thousands of Earth masses may be able to form around massive stars (B-type and O-type stars; 5–120 solar masses), where the ...
- 1,456
4
votes
1
answer
209
views
Axial tilt of exoplanets
Some directly imaged exoplanets have had their rotation measured but has the axial tilt of any exoplanet been measured? If not, when might we get the first measurement of axial tilt of an exoplanet?
- 1,456
4
votes
2
answers
693
views
Will we ever be able to see the surface of exoplanets directly?
When exoplanets are depicted, artist's impressions are used. The presence of exoplanets is observed by a dip in the emitted power of a star when a planet moves between us and the star (a kind of star ...
2
votes
1
answer
214
views
Star brightness data to study exoplanets with the transit method?
Can someone tell me how I can find the star brightness data to study exoplanet using transit method? The file should be in comma separated value (CSV) format or any other formats that can be latter ...
- 5,616
8
votes
2
answers
264
views
Likelihood of a stable system with a dwarf planet's orbit inside that of a gas giant
I keep thinking of various planetary system configurations, and would like to know:
What are the fundamental references based on Monte Carlo long-term simulation of planetary systems' evolution that ...
- 31.1k
5
votes
1
answer
257
views
Is the transition between ice giants and Jupiter-like gas giants somewhat fluid?
The ice giants Uranus and Neptune are often being distinguished from Saturn and Jupiter who consist mostly of hydrogen and helium, while the ice giants have more of heavier elements than hydrogen and ...
- 34k
2
votes
1
answer
114
views
Retrograde orbits of exoplanets
Some Hot Jupiters have retrograde orbits. What causes this? Are there any other common factors amongst the planets with these orbits and have any other types of exoplanet been found with retrograde ...
- 1,456
1
vote
0
answers
41
views
Are falling evaporating bodies (FEBs) and exocomets the same thing? How does one know they're falling and evaporating?
Looking for a (short) list of comets with heliocentric escape velocity I stumbled upon Wikipedia's exocoments which like exoplanets, are bound to other stars. I should have been looking for "...
- 31.1k
0
votes
1
answer
75
views
What exactly is a fortney grid transmission spectra modeling
I am trying to model some exoplanets and I don't understand how this model works. Below is a link of the model. What I don’t understand is how does graphing the transit depth vs wavelength provide ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
2
answers
135
views
Spin-down of gas-giants during formation
In the paper https://arxiv.org/abs/1712.00457 about rotation rates of gas giants it says:
"owing to accumulation of angular
momentum stored in the source material, a planetary mass object should ...
- 3,446
1
vote
1
answer
150
views
Why does one presume that there is at least one Earth-like exoplanet around one in five stars?
When reading the question about the first use of the term exoplanet (about which Giordano Bruno and Isaac Newton already speculated but they didn't use that term for them, I think), I searched a ...
- 152k
4
votes
3
answers
233
views
When was the term 'exoplanet' first used?
Who , when and where was the term 'exoplanet' coined?
- 5,616
2
votes
1
answer
324
views
What does it mean for a planet to have an "icy" core?
My understanding of the physics of planets leans heavily on my understanding of the physics of stars - of course there are important differences.
One important difference that I've found is the nature ...
- 9,839
2
votes
0
answers
90
views
Why did Gemini Planet Imager hardly detect anything?
GPI was originally thought able to directly image tens of planets but so far has only discovered one new planet?
Why is this?
From Gemini Observatory; Adaptive optics
Source
- 31.1k
4
votes
1
answer
129
views
Could a heavy exoplanet squeeze water into being liquid and 4° warm?
Let's say there is an exoplanet orbiting its host star well outside its habitable zone. Suppose further that it has a lot of water, being perhaps comparable to earth when it comes to the volume ratio ...
- 6,653
14
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Are there any planets or moons denser than Earth?
Earth has the highest density out of all planets, planetoids and moons of our planetary system, and also has a higher density than the Sun. Do we know any exoplanets or moons denser than Earth?
- 4,461
1
vote
0
answers
78
views
Super-puff exoplanets
Super-puffs are gas giant sized planets with masses only a few earth masses.
What causes planets to form with such low density and why are they so rare?
- 1,456
2
votes
1
answer
293
views
Were K2-141b and WASP-63b selected as the first two exoplanet atmospheres for JWST to look at during its first year of observations? If so, why?
In The Observatory @Donald.McLean linked to Scientists will peer at first galaxies with James Webb telescope which says in part:
The new telescope will augment science performed by Hubble, not ...
- 8,357
5
votes
1
answer
246
views
Can I find exoplanets without a telescope?
I would like to know please whether or not I can look for exoplanets without a telescope.
- 5,616
2
votes
2
answers
280
views
How close to a host star can a tidally locked planet be and its dark side still maintain a moderate temperature?
So, imagine an atmosphere-less planet, tidally locked to a sun-like star. How close to the star can the planet be before its dark side becomes too hot?
I imagine that at some point the rocks on its ...
6
votes
1
answer
392
views
Have any planetary systems been found around Population II stars?
I always understood that Population II stars were unlikely to have planets as they were virtually all H and He with very little else.
Have recent observations confirmed this, or have planets been ...
- 5,616
3
votes
1
answer
90
views
Planetary tails: How many have we observed yet?
Just recently I learned that Mercury has a sodium tail and it is actually well studied since long:
As a result, the planet has the appearance of a comet, with a tail that's been observed streaming ...
- 4,461
1
vote
2
answers
139
views
Crust thick enough to prevent volcanos
Could you have an Earth-like planet with a crust thick enough to prevent volcanos from forming?
- 5,616
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is the measurement of distance and position of remote celestial bodies accurate?
Considering that light is affected by gravity, how accurate are measurements of distant stars and galaxies?
When light passes through objects with great mass, such as Jupiter size planets, stars, or ...
- 16.3k
2
votes
0
answers
20
views
Is the measurement of distance and position of far away objects accurate? [duplicate]
Considering that light is affected by gravity, how accurate are our measurements of distant stars and galaxies?
When light passes through objects with great mass, such as Jupiter size planets, or ...
- 263
2
votes
1
answer
87
views
Are accretion disks the only way stellar planetary systems form?
The accepted theory for the formation of our Solar System is from an accretion disk. A molecular cloud is thought to have collapsed under its own gravity and formed a disk. Most of the matter in the ...
- 4,523
3
votes
1
answer
257
views
Are the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system so close that inhabitants on one planet could see surface details on the other planets?
In a discussion below the Space Exploration question Are there any to-scale diagrams of the TRAPPIST-1 system I was invited to ask a question like this, so I have.
Question: Are the planets in the ...
- 31.1k
3
votes
0
answers
152
views
If all the Trappist-1 planets are tidally locked, which ones may have temperate zones?
Since all the Trappist-1 planets have circular orbits, it is entirely likely that all them are tidally locked.
If so, which ones of the planets may have temperate zones either on the bright or dark ...
- 31.1k
6
votes
1
answer
216
views
Could an ultra-hot Jupiter flare?
Some of the ultra-hot Jupiters (WASP-33b, KELT-9b) have dayside surface temperatures similar to low-mass stars. Would they be capable of producing flares? To be specific, I am asking about the ...
- 16.3k
15
votes
2
answers
548
views
What percent of planets are in the position that they could be viewed edge-on from Earth? (and thus able to undergo transits)
Star number 12644769 from the Kepler Input Catalog was identified as
an eclipsing binary with a 41-day period, from the detection of its
mutual eclipses (9). Eclipses occur because the orbital ...
- 31.1k
5
votes
1
answer
141
views
Could diatom blooms affect albedo of an exoplanet?
And perhaps display a seasonal variation if the exoplanet has an axial tilt, providing proof of an Earth-like world supporting at least oceans with microbial life?
- 5,616
1
vote
1
answer
318
views
IAU 2018 Exoplanet definition
In 2018 the IAU produced a definition of an exoplanet:
The current official wokring definition of an exoplanet as amended by IAU Comission F2: Exoplanets and the Solar System in August 2018, reads as ...
- 5,616
2
votes
1
answer
68
views
Any plans for TESS after it finishes northern sky survey?
TESS has provided the astronomy community with a treasure trove of information.
Once TESS completes its one year survey of the northern sky, are there any plans for an extended mission?
Just seems ...
- 5,616
3
votes
1
answer
148
views
Lightkurve nan values after bin light curve
I am using lightkurve 2.0.2 library with Python 3.8.5 and astropy 4.2 for processing exoplanet transits. However when I want to bin light curve to fixed number of points, all values in ...
- 323
7
votes
1
answer
700
views
Why was Neptune rather than Uranus chosen as an archetype?
The largest exoplanets are typically called Jupiter-like planets, or hot/cold Jupiters. Since Jupiter is the largest most massive planet in our Solar system, it makes sense that it would be chosen as ...
- 5,616
2
votes
2
answers
283
views
Would it be possible to detect a magnetic field around an exoplanet?
Of course, we can't fly a magnetometer next to an exoplanet to measure the magnetic field, but might it be possible to find indirect evidence (e.g. polar auroras) of a magnetic field generated by an ...
- 19.4k
11
votes
1
answer
439
views
Could the James Webb Space Telescope detect biosignals on exoplanets?
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which is slated to launch in 2018 will bring us a better view of exoplanets, but will it be sufficient to detect signs of life on at least some of those worlds?
...
- 5,616
1
vote
0
answers
81
views
Strange matter objects other than neutron stars?
This question is about celestrial objects which are composed by exotic matter, and exotic matter I define as
states of matter that are not commonly encountered such as Bose–Einstein condensates, ...
- 5,616
3
votes
1
answer
191
views
Are planet-destroying quakes possible or observable?
The Gutenberg-Richter-Law is a very-well studied relationship between the magnitude and total number of (earth)quakes. In theory, there is no upper bound for the size of a quake other than the size of ...
- 5,616
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
When examining an exoplanet's atmosphere is the star's emission spectra or planet's light used?
My understanding of the main method we use to figure out an exoplanet atmosphere composition is that when a exoplanet transits their sun, visible light passes through the planet's atmosphere, and ...
- 893
3
votes
2
answers
261
views
Is this a potential planetary setup for the Alpha Centauri System?
I originally posted this on the World Building SE, but I was suggested to post it here for a better answer.
I am attempting to create a [semi]plausible star system in Alpha Centauri for a series. The ...
- 31.1k
3
votes
1
answer
91
views
Would the electron cyclotron-maser emission mechanism affect Proxima b's ability to retain an atmosphere?
In a recent arXiv preprint, Pérez-Torres et al. "Monitoring the radio emission of Proxima Centauri" claim the detection of radio emissions synchronised with the orbit of the planet Proxima b....
- 31.1k
3
votes
1
answer
645
views
What are the differences between TESS and PLATO exoplanet telescopes?
Within a year now it has been decided to launch TESS in 2017 and PLATO in 2024, space telecopes of NASA and ESA. They seem to have very similar science goals, both searching for transiting Earth sized ...
- 5,616
4
votes
1
answer
591
views
Current best-known Drake Equation values?
Frank Drake's equation is used to estimate $N$ the number of civilizations we might be able to communicate with in our galaxy:
$$N = R_\star f_p n_e f_l f_i f_c L$$
where:
$R_\star$ is the average ...
- 31.1k
3
votes
2
answers
376
views
How Reliable is Bode's Law?
Is Bode's Law just a series of remarkable coincidences,or would it hold good for other solar systems where the star is similar to our sun?
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
74
views
How to track orbit of an exoplanet?
I was wondering if there is an established method to keep track of the orbit of an exoplanet assuming we know a - the semi-major axis of the orbit, e - the eccentricity of the orbit, and i - the ...
- 31.1k
7
votes
5
answers
890
views
Mountains are higher than the atmosphere?
Is it theoretically possible that planets exist with mountains so high that their peaks overtop the planets atmosphere? And which physical laws are relevant for this question? I'm just curious.
The ...
- 1,359
4
votes
0
answers
86
views
Radial velocity exoplanet search - can mathematical details be explained? (Bayesian periodogram MCMC)
Radial velocity (RV) is one of main methods for exoplanet search.
The popular description of the method sounds simple - one should measure periodic Doppler variation of a spectral line of a star and ...
- 647
3
votes
1
answer
140
views
Why does the exoplanetary system TOI-178 challenges current theories of planet formation?
I am excited reading the news about ESA's latest exoplanet discovery using CHEOPS. The system TOI-178 consists of (at least?) five planets, following a 18:9:6:4:3 pattern. In the press release, the ...
- 5,616