Detection of Aerosols at Microbar Pressures in an Exoplanet Atmosphere
Journal Article
·
· The Astronomical Journal (Online)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109 (United States)
- European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Santiago (Chile)
- Center for Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics Mackenzie (CRAAM), Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua da Consolacao, 896, Sao Paulo (Brazil)
The formation of hazes at microbar pressures has been explored by theoretical models of exoplanet atmospheres to explain Rayleigh scattering and/or featureless transmission spectra; however observational evidence of aerosols in the low-pressure formation environments has proved elusive. Here, we show direct evidence of aerosols existing at ~1 microbar pressures in the atmosphere of the warm sub-Saturn WASP-69b using observations taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and Wide Field Camera 3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. The transmission spectrum shows a wavelength-dependent slope induced by aerosol scattering that covers 11 scale heights of spectral modulation. Drawing on the extensive studies of haze in our solar system, we model the transmission spectrum based on a scaled version of Jupiter’s haze-density profile to show that the WASP-69b transmission spectrum can be produced by scattering from an approximately constant density of particles extending throughout the atmospheric column from 40 millibar to microbar pressures. These results are consistent with theoretical expectations based on microphysics of the aerosol particles that have suggested haze can exist at microbar pressures in exoplanet atmospheres.
- OSTI ID:
- 23159348
- Journal Information:
- The Astronomical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astronomical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 162; ISSN 1538-3881
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A ground-based optical transmission spectrum of WASP-6b
An Observational Diagnostic for Distinguishing between Clouds and Haze in Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres
HST HOT-JUPITER TRANSMISSION SPECTRAL SURVEY: CLEAR SKIES FOR COOL SATURN WASP-39b
Journal Article
·
Sat Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 2013
· Astrophysical Journal
·
OSTI ID:22341913
An Observational Diagnostic for Distinguishing between Clouds and Haze in Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres
Journal Article
·
Sun Aug 20 00:00:00 EDT 2017
· Astrophysical Journal Letters
·
OSTI ID:22654407
HST HOT-JUPITER TRANSMISSION SPECTRAL SURVEY: CLEAR SKIES FOR COOL SATURN WASP-39b
Journal Article
·
Wed Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2016
· Astrophysical Journal
·
OSTI ID:22667526