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Transiting Exoplanets with JWST

  • S. Seager
  • D. Deming
  • J.A. Valenti
Conference paper
Part of the Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings book series (ASSSP)

Abstract

The era of exoplanet characterization is upon us. For a subset of exoplanets—the transiting planets—physical properties can be measured, including mass, radius, and atmosphere characteristics. Indeed, measuring the atmospheres of a further subset of transiting planets, the hot Jupiters, is now routine with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will continue Spitzer’s legacy with its large mirror size and precise thermal stability. JWST is poised for the significant achievement of identifying habitable planets around bright M through G stars—rocky planets lacking extensive gas envelopes, with water vapor and signs of chemical disequilibrium in their atmospheres. Favorable transiting planet systems, are, however, anticipated to be rare and their atmosphere observations will require tens to hundreds of hours of JWST time per planet. We review what is known about the physical characteristics of transiting planets, summarize lessons learned from Spitzer high-contrast exoplanet measurements, and give several examples of potential JWST observations.

Keywords

Giant Planet Planet Atmosphere Habitable Zone Host Star Night Side 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, B.V. 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • S. Seager
    • 1
  • D. Deming
    • 2
  • J.A. Valenti
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Dept. of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUSA
  2. 2.NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterPlanetary Systems BranchGreenbeltUSA
  3. 3.Space Telescope Science InstituteSan Martin Dr.BaltimoreUSA

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