Spitzer Space Telescope - General Observer Proposal #20523


Direct Study of Exoplanet Thermal Emission

Principal Investigator: David Charbonneau
           Institution: Harvard

Co-Investigators: 
Lori Allen, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory                     
Adam Burrows, University of Arizona                                   
Thomas Megeath, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory                 
Guillermo Torres, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory               

Science Category: extrasolar planets 
 Observing Modes: IRAC IracMap 
  Hours Approved: 19.8 

Abstract:
We propose to observe two transiting exoplanet systems during
predicted times of secondary eclipse, corresponding to the passage of
the planet behind the star.  This program builds on the success of our
Director's Discretionary program, in which we demonstrated the use of
Spitzer/IRAC as an ultra-precise spectrophotometer, and directly
detected the thermal emission from an extrasolar planet.  The primary
observational product of the current proposal will be the flux
measurement of the planetary emission for each planet in each of the 4
IRAC bands.  These observations will truly inaugurate the era of
remote sensing of extrasolar planets, and directly constrain models of
the planetary atmospheres.  Moreover, high-cadence observations of one
system during ingress and egress will allow us to spatially resolve
the planetary emission over the planetary surface, providing an
unprecedented probe of the dynamics of these strongly irradiated
exoplanet atmospheres.