EXOPLANETS Flashcards
Rogue Planets
- free floating planets
- nomad planets
- interstellar planets
- orphan planets
- wandering planets
Titan
- sealed oceans
- icy moon
- liquid methane atmosphere / cycle
- organic rich world
Known Exoplanets #
5000
5 ways to find an exoplanet
(1) Radial velocity –> watching for wobble via Doppler shifts
(2) Transit –> searching for shadows, dimming star light - measures planet radii and orbit distance
(3) Direct Imaging –> taking photos
(4) Gravitational Microlensing –> Light in a gravity lens
(5) Astrometry –> miniscule movements in star position
(1) Radial velocity
–> watching for wobble via Doppler shifts
(2) Transit
-> searching for shadows, dimming star light
- measures planet radii and orbit distance
(4) Gravitational Microlensing
–> Light in a gravity lens
(5) Astrometry
–> miniscule movements in star position
Difficulties in Finding Extrasolar Exoplanets
(1) Direct Detection –> difficult because host star glare
(2) Earth would appear super faint if viewed from outside solar system
Doppler Wobble Effect
- blue wavelength –> toward: compression of lambda
- red wavelength –> away: stretching of lambda
- can calculate minimum planetary mass
- enhanced for smaller orbits
Hot Jupiters
- Jupiter sized
- orbits <100 days
- easy to detect
- low densities
- gaseous
- cannot explain how they formed
Super Earth
- larger masses than Earth
Earth Twins
- rocky worlds
- similar size to earth
TOI-178
- planetary system of Earth twins
- habitable zone
- first Earth twin, habitable zone planet discovered
WASP 39b
- hot Jupiter
- photochemical reactions
