Planetary Sciences:

Earth and Beyond

Lecture 32
Extrasolar Planets

GNR 649
 *Sentient → having the ability to use your senses to see and to feel

Overview
• The presence of sentient life on the Earth inevitably raises the
question whether planets like the Earth orbit other stars in the Milky
Way galaxy and whether some of these planets are inhabited by
intelligent lifeforms that have achieved a level of technological
expertise similar to ours
• Our Sun is one of at least 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, a spiral
galaxy about 100,000 light-years across.
• The stars are arranged in a pinwheel pattern with four major arms,
and we live in one of them, about two-thirds of the way outward
from the center.
• The Milky Way galaxy is just one of billion of galaxies in the universe.

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/
What is an exoplanet?
• An exoplanet is any planet beyond our solar system. Most orbit other stars, but
free-floating exoplanets, called rogue planets, orbit the galactic center and are
untethered to any star.
• Most of the exoplanets discovered so far are in a relatively small region of our
galaxy, the Milky Way.
• By measuring exoplanets’ sizes (diameters) and masses (weights), we can see
compositions ranging from very rocky (like Earth and Venus) to very gas-rich (like
Jupiter and Saturn).
• Exoplanets are made up of elements similar to those of the planets in our solar
system, but their mixes of those elements may differ.
• We’ve identified lava worlds covered in molten seas, puffy planets the density of
Styrofoam and dense cores of planets still orbiting their stars.
• Although exoplanets are far – even the closest known exoplanet to Earth, Proxima
Centauri b, is still about 4 light-years away
Previous Image
• This artist’s impression shows a view of the surface of the planet
Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest
star to the solar system.
• The double star Alpha Centauri AB also appears in the image.
• Proxima b is a little more massive than the Earth and orbits in the
habitable zone around Proxima Centauri, where the temperature is
suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface. Credit: ESO/M.
Kornmesser
• https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1383/eso-discovers-earth-size-
planet-in-habitable-zone-of-nearest-star/
Previous Image
• Image of the night sky above Paranal, Chile on 21 July 2007, taken by ESO
astronomer Yuri Beletsky. A wide band of stars and dust clouds, spanning
more than 100 degrees on the sky, is seen.
• This is the Milky Way, the galaxy to which we belong. At the centre of the
image, two bright objects are visible.
• The brightest is the planet Jupiter, while the other is the star Antares. Three
of the four 8.2-m telescopes forming ESO’s VLT are seen, with a laser
beaming out from Yepun, Unit Telescope number 4.
• The laser points directly at the Galactic Centre. Also visible are three of the
1.8-m Auxiliary Telescopes used for interferometry. They show small light
beams which are diodes located on the domes. The exposure time is 5
minutes and because the tracking was made on the stars, the telescopes
are slightly blurred.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7398904
https://web.archive.org/web/20081121184421/http://www.eso.org/gallery/v/ESOPIA/Paranal/phot-33a-07.tif.html
 Where are we?
• Diagram of the Sun’s location in the Milky
Way, the angles represent longitudes in
the galactic coordinate system.
• The galactic center is an intense radio
source known as Sagittarius A*, a
supermassive black hole of 4.100 (± 0.034)
million solar masses.
• As viewed from Earth, the visible region of
the Milky Way’s galactic plane occupies an
area of the sky that includes 30
constellations.
• The Galactic Center lies in the direction of
Sagittarius, where the Milky Way is
brightest.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/285/the-milky-way-galaxy/
Milky Way Galaxy
• Using infrared images from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have
discovered that the Milky Way’s elegant spiral structure is dominated by just two
arms wrapping off the ends of a central bar of stars. Previously, our galaxy was
thought to possess four major arms.
• The galaxy’s two major arms (Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus) can be seen
attached to the ends of a thick central bar, while the two now-demoted minor
arms (Norma and Sagittarius) are less distinct and located between the major
arms.
• The major arms consist of the highest densities of both young and old stars; the
minor arms are primarily filled with gas and pockets of star-forming activity.
• The artist’s concept also includes a new spiral arm, called the “Far-3 kiloparsec
arm,” discovered via a radio-telescope survey of gas in the Milky Way. This arm is
shorter than the two major arms and lies along the bar of the galaxy.
• Our Sun lies near a small, partial arm called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur, located
between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms.
Exoplanet detection techniques
• The main techniques used to detect exoplanets are:
• Direct imaging
• Radial velocity or Doppler Shift
• Transits
• Microlensing
• Transit timing variations
https://www.paulanthonywilson.com/exoplanets/exoplanet-detection-techniques/
Exoplanet detection techniques
• Direct Imaging: The exoplanet is imaged directly using large telescopes
fitted with adaptive optics and coronagraphs. The technique is most
sensitive to the warmer, bright (young) and massive exoplanets on wide
and/or eccentric orbits (large sky projected separations). The separation
from the host star allows for spectra to be obtained directly and allows for
the direct measurement of the luminosity.
• Radial velocity: The exoplanet is detected by measuring the Doppler shift
in the host star light, a consequence of the gravitational affects between
the two bodies. The technique is most sensitive to exoplanets with a large
mass orbiting close to their host star perpendicular to the plane of the sky.
The radial velocity technique allows for a minimum mass (dependent on
orbital inclination) to be calculated. The periodic shifts of the absorption
lines are used to calculate the velocity of the star as it moves toward and
away from the Earth.
Exoplanet detection techniques
• Transits: The exoplanet is detected by measuring a periodic decrease in the
flux received from the host star, as a consequence of the exoplanet
transiting in front of the host star.
• The transiting technique is most sensitive to large exoplanets orbiting close
to their host star stars and provides an accurate determination of the
planetary radius relative to the host star.
• While the radial velocity method provides information about a planet’s
mass, the photometric method can determine the planet’s radius.
• If a planet crosses (transits) in front of its parent star’s disk, then the
observed visual brightness of the star drops by a small amount, depending
on the relative sizes of the star and the planet.
Exoplanet detection techniques
• Microlensing: The exoplanet is detected by measuring characteristic light
curve changes caused by changes in the lensing effect observed when a
star with a planet passes in front of a distant star. The technique is limited
to distant one time events and by the lack of accurate determinations of
the planet and orbit parameters. It is however a very valuable technique
due to the lack of strong radii or mass biases making it ideal for statistical
population studies.
• Transit timing variations: The exoplanet is detected by observing a change
in periodic phenomena due to the presence of an exoplanet. Examples
include a change in transit time (known as TTV) of one planet, due to the
presence of others in multiple planet systems and pulsar timing, where
anomalous movement (measured at radio wavelengths) can be used to
infer the presence of a planet.
 https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/ways-to-find-a-planet/

Detection techniques visual

Types of Exoplanets
• Four main categories:
• Gas Giant: A gas giant is a large planet mostly composed of helium
and/or hydrogen, like, Jupiter and Saturn. Gas giant exoplanets can be
much larger than Jupiter, and much closer to their stars than anything
found in our solar system. Total 1672 confirmed discoveries till date,
e.g., KELT-9b, Kepler-7b, 51 Pegasi b
• Neptunian: Neptunian exoplanets are similar in size to Neptune or
Uranus in our solar system. In 2014, researchers discovered the first
ice giant exoplanet 25,000 light-years away. Total 1835 confirmed
discoveries till date, e.g., HAT-P-26b, Kepler-1655 b, GJ 436 b
Types of Exoplanets
• Super-Earth: A class of planets unlike any in our solar system – are more
massive than Earth yet lighter than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus, and
can be made of gas, rock or a combination of both. They are between twice
the size of Earth and up to 10 times its mass. Total 1605 confirmed
discoveries till date, e.g., Barnard’s Star b, GJ 15 A b, 55 Cancri e.
• Terrestrial: For planets outside our solar system, those between half of
Earth’s size to twice its radius are considered terrestrial and others may be
even smaller. Terrestrial planets are rocky worlds, composed of rock,
silicate, water and/or carbon. In general, they have a bulk composition that
is dominated by rock or iron, and a solid or liquid surface. Total 195
confirmed discoveries till date, e.g., TRAPPIST-1 d, TRAPPIST-1 e.
Space Missions
• Hubble: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, marking its 30th anniversary in
orbit in 2020, was a pioneer in the search for planets around other stars;
Hubble even has been used to make some of the earliest profiles of
exoplanet atmospheres.
• Kepler and K2: In its first mission, from 2009 to 2013, Kepler monitored
more than 150,000 stars, watching for tiny dips in starlight as planets
crossed in front of their stars. The first mission ended in 2013 when
technical problems caused the spacecraft to lose much of its pointing
ability.
• In 2014, it began its second mission, dubbed K2, and continued discovering
exoplanets despite its diminished directional capability. Decommissioned in
2018, Kepler remains credited with discovering the most exoplanets of any
mission so far – more than 2,600. Researchers are still finding planets in
Kepler’s data and will continue to for years.
Space Missions
• Spitzer: Spitzer probed in the infrared portion of the spectrum,
capturing images of newborn stars nestled inside thick clouds of dust
along with millions of other images.
• Spitzer proved a powerful contributor to the hunt for exoplanets and
analysis of their atmospheres.
• Among its most celebrated work is the detection of seven planets
roughly the size of Earth orbiting a star called TRAPPIST-1; Spitzer was
able to determine both the masses and densities of these worlds.
• It ended its 16-year observing run in January 2020.
Space Missions
• TESS: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is conducting a nearly all-sky
survey in sequential segments, first the dome of stars that would be seen from
the Southern Hemisphere, then the Northern. Its mission is to find planets
around brighter, closer stars.
• TESS is designed to survey more than 85% of the sky (Kepler covered about
0.25%) to search for planets around nearby stars (within about 200 light-years).
• TESS stars are typically 30-100 times brighter than those surveyed by Kepler.
Planets detected around these stars are therefore far easier to characterize with
follow-up observations, resulting in refined measurements of planet masses,
sizes, densities, and atmospheric properties.
• James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): It can reveal details of the formation of
planetary systems like our own, and even sample the composition of exoplanet
atmospheres.
 Collaborating with ground-based telescope teams is essential.
When a space telescope captures evidence of a new exoplanet,
observations from the ground not only can confirm its existence
Ground Observations but tell us more about the planet itself.

• Some of the popular ground based projects are:

• MEarth Project: The MEarth Project is a United States NSF-funded, robotic
observatory that is part of Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mt.
Hopkins, Arizona, US. The project monitors the brightness of thousands of
red dwarf stars with the goal of finding transiting planets. As red dwarf
stars are small, any transiting planet blocks a larger portion of starlight
than transits around a Sun-like star would. This allows smaller planets to be
detected through ground-based observations.
• HATNet Project: The Hungarian Automated Telescope Network (HATNet)
project is a network of six small fully automated “HAT” telescopes. The
scientific goal of the project is to detect and characterize extrasolar planets
using the transit method. This network is used also to find and follow
bright variable stars. The network is maintained by the Harvard-
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Ground Observations
• KELT Project: The Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (or KELT) is an
astronomical observation system formed by two robotic telescopes that
are conducting a survey for transiting exoplanets around bright stars. The
project is jointly administered by members of Ohio State University
Department of Astronomy, the Vanderbilt University Department of Physics
and Astronomy Astronomy Group, the Lehigh University Department of
Physics, and the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO).
• SuperWASP (or WASP) Project: Wide Angle Search for Planets (or WASP) is
an international consortium of several academic organisations performing
an ultra-wide angle search for exoplanets using transit photometry. The
array of robotic telescopes aims to survey the entire sky, simultaneously
monitoring many thousands of stars. SuperWASP is the UK’s leading extra-
solar planet detection programme. The WASP project is currently funded
and operated by Warwick University and Keele University.
3-D Visualization and more …
• Interactive 3-D visualization:
• https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/eyes-on-exoplanets/
• Catalog:
• https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/discovery/exoplanet-catalog/
• 20 Intriguing Exoplanets
• https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/20-intriguing-exoplanets
“
Above all, don't fear difficult moments. The
best comes from them.

– Rita Levi-Montalcini
”
Next time …
Optics and Telescopes