Series: Astronomy Colloquium
Date: Wednesday 12-Mar-2025
Time: 16:05-17:00 (4:05-5:00 pm)
Location: ATL 2400
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Moran (GSFC)
Title: Cloudy and Hazy Worlds in the Era of JWST
Aerosols are everywhere. I will discuss two avenues where our understanding of photochemical hazes and condensation clouds has advanced for exoplanetary atmospheres. Both kinds of aerosols fundamentally shape the atmospheric chemistry of a variety of exoplanets, with subsequent impacts on observations from Hubble to JWST to upcoming missions like the planned Habitable Worlds Observatory. First, I will present results on the properties of photochemical haze particles produced from laboratory studies and the ways we may begin untangling these properties with JWST's instrumentation for the most promising planetary targets. Second, I will focus on updates to our understanding of exoplanet clouds. Clouds made of silicate materials are thought to be the dominant cloud species that affects our interpretations of hot Jupiters, but the underlying laboratory data typically used for such interpretation does not fully capture the complexity of these materials. I will discuss my recent efforts to properly account for this complexity by considering mineral polymorphs and non-spherical cloud particle models. Properly accounting for the full chemical and physical complexity of both condensate and photochemical aerosol particles in exoplanet atmospheres will let us use them as atmospheric tracers of planetary conditions.
In-person colloquia are usually preceded by espresso and ice cream at 1:45 pm outside room PSC 1150 and are followed by an informal reception at 5:15 pm in that room. Anyone interested in talking with the speaker, or being added to the colloquium announcement email list, should contact the colloquium organizer Dr. Richard Mushotzky. Lunch will normally be reserved for the speaker to talk to graduate students. Anyone asking a question during a talk is asked to raise their hand and be acknowledged before speaking. Contact Dr. Richard Mushotzky for details.
Colloquium Organizer:
Dr. Richard Mushotzky
Special accommodations for individuals with disabilities can be made by calling (301) 405-3001. It would be appreciated if we are notified at least one week in advance.
