1,760 research outputs found
Extreme ultraviolet observations of active regions in the chromosphere and the corona
Extreme ultraviolet observations of active regions in chromosphere and corona from OSO-4 spectroheliomete
A balloon-borne 1 meter telescope for far-infrared astronomy
The flight of a balloon-borne one-meter telescope for infrared astronomy in the wavelength interval of 40 to 240 microns is discussed. The gyro-stabilized telescope mapped the intensity of the far infrared radiation from NGC 7538, Mars, the Orion Nebula, and W3 with a resolution of one minute and from selected regions of these sources with a resolution of 30 seconds. The infrared detection is described and its capabilities are analyzed. The instrumentation, orientation system, and modes of observation of the telescope are defined
HAT-P-4b: A metal-rich low-density transiting hot Jupiter
We describe the discovery of HAT-P-4b, a low-density extrasolar planet
transiting BD+36 2593, a V = 11.2 mag slightly evolved metal-rich late F star.
The planet's orbital period is 3.056536+/-0.000057 d with a mid-transit epoch
of 2,454,245.8154 +/- 0.0003 (HJD). Based on high-precision photometric and
spectroscopic data, and by using transit light curve modeling, spectrum
analysis and evolutionary models, we derive the following planet parameters:
Mp= 0.68 +/- 0.04 MJ, Rp= 1.27 +/- 0.05 RJ, rho = 0.41 +/- 0.06 g cm-3 and a =
0.0446 +/- 0.0012 AU. Because of its relatively large radius, together with its
assumed high metallicity of that of its parent star, this planet adds to the
theoretical challenges to explain inflated extrasolar planets.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ
An Upper Limit on the Reflected Light from the Planet Orbiting the Star tau Bootis
The planet orbiting tau Boo at a separation of 0.046 AU could produce a
reflected light flux as bright as 1e-4 relative to that of the star. A spectrum
of the system will contain a reflected light component which varies in
amplitude and Doppler-shift as the planet orbits the star. Assuming the
secondary spectrum is primarily the reflected stellar spectrum, we can limit
the relative reflected light flux to be less than 5e-5. This implies an upper
limit of 0.3 for the planetary geometric albedo near 480 nm, assuming a
planetary radius of 1.2 R_Jup. This albedo is significantly less than that of
any of the giant planets of the solar system, and is not consistent with
certain published theoretical predictions.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, accepted by ApJ Letter
Detection of an Extrasolar Planet Atmosphere
We report high precision spectrophotometric observations of four planetary
transits of HD 209458, in the region of the sodium resonance doublet at 589.3
nm. We find that the photometric dimming during transit in a bandpass centered
on the sodium feature is deeper by (2.32 +/- 0.57) x 10^{-4} relative to
simultaneous observations of the transit in adjacent bands. We interpret this
additional dimming as absorption from sodium in the planetary atmosphere, as
recently predicted from several theoretical modeling efforts. Our model for a
cloudless planetary atmosphere with a solar abundance of sodium in atomic form
predicts more sodium absorption than we observe. There are several
possibilities that may account for this reduced amplitude, including reaction
of atomic sodium into molecular gases and/or condensates, photoionization of
sodium by the stellar flux, a low primordial abundance of sodium, or the
presence of clouds high in the atmosphere.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, accepted by ApJ 2001 November 1
HAT-P-3b: A heavy-element rich planet transiting a K dwarf star
We report the discovery of a Jupiter-size planet transiting a relatively
bright (V = 11.56) and metal-rich early K dwarf star with a period of about 2.9
days. On the basis of follow-up photometry and spectroscopy we determine the
mass and radius of the planet, HAT-P-3b, to be M_p = 0.599 +/- 0.026 M_Jup and
R_p = 0.890 +/- 0.046 R_Jup. The relatively small size of the object for its
mass implies the presence of about 75 Earth masses worth of heavy elements (1/3
of the total mass) based on current theories of irradiated extrasolar giant
planets, similar to the mass of the core inferred for the transiting planet HD
149026b. The bulk density of HAT-P-3b is found to be rho_p = 1.06 +/- 0.17
g/cm^3, and the planet orbits the star at a distance of 0.03894 AU. Ephemerides
for the transit centers are T_c = 2,454,218.7594 +/- 0.0029 + N (2.899703 +/-
0.000054) (HJD).Comment: To appear in ApJ
HAT-P-18b and HAT-P-19b: Two Low-Density Saturn-Mass Planets Transiting Metal-Rich K Stars
We report the discovery of two new transiting extrasolar planets. HAT-P-18b
orbits the V=12.759 K2 dwarf star GSC 2594-00646, with a period
P=5.508023+-0.000006 d, transit epoch Tc=2454715.02174+-0.00020 (BJD), and
transit duration 0.1131+-0.0009 d. The host star has a mass of 0.77+-0.03 Msun,
radius of 0.75+-0.04 Rsun, effective temperature 4803+-80 K, and metallicity
[Fe/H]=+0.10+-0.08. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.197+-0.013 Mjup,
and radius of 0.995+-0.052 Rjup yielding a mean density of 0.25+-0.04 g cm-3.
HAT-P-19b orbits the V=12.901 K1 dwarf star GSC 2283-00589, with a period
P=4.008778+-0.000006 d, transit epoch Tc=2455091.53417+-0.00034 (BJD), and
transit duration 0.1182+-0.0014 d. The host star has a mass of 0.84+-0.04 Msun,
radius of 0.82+-0.05 Rsun, effective temperature 4990+-130 K, and metallicity
[Fe/H]=+0.23+-0.08. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.292+-0.018 Mjup,
and radius of 1.132+-0.072 Rjup yielding a mean density of 0.25+-0.04 g cm-3.
The radial velocity residuals for HAT-P-19 exhibit a linear trend in time,
which indicates the presence of a third body in the system. Comparing these
observations with theoretical models, we find that HAT-P-18b and HAT-P-19b are
each consistent with a hydrogen-helium dominated gas giant planet with
negligible core mass. HAT-P-18b and HAT-P-19b join HAT-P-12b and WASP-21b in an
emerging group of low-density Saturn-mass planets, with negligible inferred
core masses. However, unlike HAT-P-12b and WASP-21b, both HAT-P-18b and
HAT-P-19b orbit stars with super-solar metallicity. This calls into question
the heretofore suggestive correlation between the inferred core mass and host
star metallicity for Saturn-mass planets.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, 9 tables. Replaced with version accepted for
publication in Ap
Hat-P-25b: A Hot-Jupiter Transiting a Moderately Faint G Star
We report the discovery of HAT-P-25b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting the V = 13.19 G5 dwarf star GSC 1788-01237, with a period P = 3.652836 ± 0.000019 days, transit epoch T_c = 2455176.85173 ± 0.00047 (BJD—barycentric Julian dates throughout the paper are calculated from Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), and transit duration 0.1174 ± 0.0017 days. The host star has a mass of 1.01 ± 0.03 M_☉, radius of 0.96^(+0.05)_(– 0.04) R_☉, effective temperature 5500 ± 80 K, and metallicity [Fe/H] = +0.31 ± 0.08. The planetary companion has a mass of 0.567 ± 0.022 M_J and radius of 1.190^(+0.081)_(–0.056) R_J yielding a mean density of 0.42 ± 0.07 g cm^(–3)
- …