The Astronomical Journal (Jan 2025)
Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager
- Ryan J. Oelkers,
- Luke M. Schmidt,
- Erika Cook,
- Mary Anne Limbach,
- D. L. DePoy,
- J. L. Marshall,
- Jimmy Ardoin,
- Mitchell Barry,
- Evan Batteas,
- Alexandra Boone,
- Brant Conway,
- Silvana Delgado Adrande,
- John D. Dixon,
- Enrique Gonzalez-Vega,
- Alexandra Guajardo,
- Landon Holcomb,
- Christian Lambert,
- Shravan Menon,
- Divya Mishra,
- Jacob Purcell,
- Zachary Reed,
- Nathan Sala,
- Noah Siebersma,
- Nhu Ngoc Ton,
- Raenessa M. L. Walker,
- Z. Franklin Wang,
- Kaitlin Webber
Affiliations
- Ryan J. Oelkers
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Texas , Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Luke M. Schmidt
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Erika Cook
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Mary Anne Limbach
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- D. L. DePoy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- J. L. Marshall
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Jimmy Ardoin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Mitchell Barry
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Evan Batteas
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Alexandra Boone
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Wyoming , Laramie, WY 82071, USA
- Brant Conway
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Silvana Delgado Adrande
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- John D. Dixon
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- Enrique Gonzalez-Vega
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Alexandra Guajardo
- Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Landon Holcomb
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Christian Lambert
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Shravan Menon
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USA
- Divya Mishra
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- Jacob Purcell
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Physics, Indiana University—Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) , 402 North Blackford Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202-3273, USA
- Zachary Reed
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Nathan Sala
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Noah Siebersma
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Nhu Ngoc Ton
- Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Mathematics, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA ; [email protected]
- Raenessa M. L. Walker
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- Z. Franklin Wang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; Charles R. & Judith G. Munnerlyn Astronomical Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Kaitlin Webber
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada557
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 169,
no. 3
p. 134
Abstract
One of the most prolific methods of studying exoplanet atmospheres is transmission spectroscopy, which measures the difference between the depth of an exoplanet's transit signal at various wavelengths and attempts to correlate the depth changes to potential features in the exoplanet's atmosphere. Here we present reconnaissance observations of 21 exoplanet atmospheres measured with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (ETSI), a recently deployed spectrophotometer on the McDonald Observatory Otto Struve 2.1 m telescope. ETSI measurements are mostly free of systematics through the use of a novel observing technique called common-path multiband imaging (CMI), which has been shown to achieve photometric color precision on par with space-based observations (300 ppm or 0.03%). This work also describes the various statistical tests performed on the data to evaluate the efficacy of the CMI method and the ETSI instrument in combination. We find that none of the eight comparisons of exoplanet atmospheres measured with ETSI and other observatories (including the Hubble Space Telescope) provide evidence that the spectra are statistically dissimilar. These results suggest that ETSI can provide initial transmission spectroscopy observations for a fraction of the observational and monetary overhead previously required to detect an exoplanet's atmosphere. Ultimately these reconnaissance observations increase the number of planets with transmission spectroscopy measurements by ~10% and provide an immediate prioritization of 21 exoplanets for future follow-up with more precious observatories, such as the James Webb Space Telescope. The reconnaissance spectra are available through the Filtergraph visualization portal at the URL https://filtergraph.com/etsi/ .
Keywords
