AAS Nova

Selections from 2017: Atmosphere Around an Earth-Like Planet

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GJ 1132 b
Artist's impression of GJ 1132 b, an Earth-like exoplanet around which researchers have recently detected an atmosphere. [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy]

Editor’s note: In these last two weeks of 2017, we’ll be looking at a few selections that we haven’t yet discussed on AAS Nova from among the most-downloaded papers published in AAS journals this year. The usual posting schedule will resume in January.

Detection of the Atmosphere of the 1.6 M ⊕ Exoplanet GJ 1132 b

Published March 2017

 

Main takeaway:

An atmosphere was detected around the roughly Earth-size exoplanet GJ 1132 b using a telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. A team of scientists led by John Southworth (Keele University) found features indicating the presence of an atmosphere in the observations of this 1.6-Earth-mass planet as it transits an M-dwarf host star. This is the lowest-mass planet with a detected atmosphere thus far.

Why it’s interesting:

M dwarfs are among the most common stars in our galaxy, and we’ve found many Earth-size exoplanets in or near the habitable zones around M-dwarf hosts. But M dwarfs are also more magnetically active than stars like our Sun, suggesting that the planets in M-dwarf habitable zones may not be able to support life due to stellar activity eroding their atmospheres. The detection of an atmosphere around GJ 1132 b suggests that some planets orbiting M dwarfs are able to retain their atmospheres — which means that these planets may be an interesting place to search for life after all.

How the atmosphere was detected:

GJ 1132 b radius

The measured planetary radius for GJ 1132 b as a function of the wavelength used to observe it. [Southworth et al. 2017]

When measuring the radius of GJ 1132 b based on its transits, the authors noticed that the planet appeared to be larger when observed in some wavelengths than in others. This can be explained if the planet has a “surface radius” of ~1.4 Earth radii, overlaid by an atmosphere that extends out another few tenths of an Earth radius. The atmosphere, which may consist of water vapor or methane, is transparent to some wavelengths and absorbs others — which is why the apparent size of the planet changes across wavelength bands.

Citation

John Southworth et al 2017 AJ 153 191. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa6477