Date: Monday 21-Apr-2025
Time: 11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Location: ATL 1250 and Zoom (contact host Megan Weiner Mansfield for link)
Speaker: Natalie Allen (Johns Hopkins University)
Title: Towards the detection of terrestrial atmospheres with JWST
Abstract: JWST is enabling the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres like never before. While we are making revolutionary advances in the understanding of giant planet atmospheres, we still have not definitively detected the atmosphere of a terrestrial exoplanet. One of the major roadblocks towards detection has been the effect of stellar contamination, or contamination due to active regions on the stellar surface. I will discuss efforts towards detecting terrestrial atmospheres in emission, dodging the problem of stellar contamination, through the Hot Rocks Survey, with an eye towards the 500-hour JWST DDT Rocky Worlds program. I will also present efforts to detect an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1 e in transmission in spite of large stellar contamination signals. With the same approximate size and equilibrium temperature as Earth, TRAPPIST-1 e is the most “Earthlike” planet currently available for characterization. I will discuss the results from the TST-DREAMS GTO program, and then present the first observations from our large follow-up GO program attempting to detect an Earthlike atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1 e using TRAPPIST-1 b as a stellar contamination proxy.
If you have any questions, contact the PALS hosts: Benjamin Sharkey (small bodies) and Matt Nixon (exoplanets).
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS: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.
ATL 1250 is a flat, carpeted conference room that can accommodate approximately 20-30 people at large tables. The closest wheelchair accessible entry to this room in the Atlantic building is the white stone entrance at 224 Stadium Drive.
