Florida Space Institute Seminar Announcement
Speaker: Joseph Harrington
Affiliation: Physics, UCF
Day and Date: Wednesday, August 28th
Time: 11:00 - 12:00
Location: Research Park
12354 Research Parkway
Partnership 1 Bldg. Suite 209
Orlando, FL 32826
Title: Two Classes of Exoplanets Identified Without
Modeling
Abstract:
The Spitzer Space Telescope has measured numerous
eclipses of exoplanets, and ground-based telescopes and Hubble are now getting
into the game. These measurements give the planetary flux in the
observation filter. In combination with the planetary radius, known from
transit, one can determine a brightness temperature, Tb. I compare these
Tbs with the planets' predicted equilibrium temperatures, Teq, calculated
assuming zero albedo and uniform reradiation of absorbed energy from the entire
planetary surface. Measurements deviate from the simplistic Teq prediction
because of the chemistry and temperatures present in the atmosphere, but other
effects like clouds may play important roles as well. By comparing Tb and
Teq, and without reference to any interpretive model, I have identified two
distinct classes of exoplanets, with cooler exoplanets having similar Tb and
Teq while hotter exoplanets have higher Tb than Teq. I will discuss
possible explanations, such as thermal inversions, clouds, and competing radiative
and convective time constants.
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