Cool Stars 14 - Submitted Abstract # 385
This version created on 13 October 2006

Science from Transit Follow-up Photometry and Spectroscopy


Drake Deming, NASA's GSFC

Transits of extrasolar planets provide numerous opportunities to probe
directly the physical properties of these worlds.  In addition to mass
and radius from the transit, thermal emission of the planets can be
measured from the depth of the secondary eclipse.  These measurements
are most readily made using space-borne telescopes.  Thermal emission
detections, using Spitzer, have now been reported for four extrasolar
planets.  Interesting ground-based upper limits, and one tentative
ground-based detection, of thermal emission at wavelengths shortward
of the Spitzer bands have also been reported.  The secondary eclipse
technique can be extended to spectroscopy, allowing the measurement of
the thermal emission spectrum of hot Jupiters.  The James Webb Space
Telescope will enable us to extend infrared photometry and
spectroscopy to smaller and colder planets, including the potential
measurement of the thermal emission spectra of earthlike planets
transiting lower main sequence stars.  

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