New method uses molecules to detect exoplanets
By Laurel Kornfeld | Jun 20, 2018
A new technique developed by an international team of astronomers enables scientists to detect exoplanets by searching for specific molecules in their atmospheres.
Exoplanets can rarely be directly observed due to the overwhelming brightness of the stars they orbit. The SPHERE instrument on the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile and a few similar instruments have directly observed a small number of exoplanets in distant orbits around their stars.
Led by Jens Hoeijmakers, a scientist at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), who is also a member of the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS (NCCR PlanetS), the research team pioneered a technique that traces molecules present in planets' atmospheres but not in their parent stars.
"By focusing on molecules present only on the studied exoplanet that are absent from its host star, our technique would effectively 'erase' the star, leaving only the exoplanet," he said.
More:
https://thespacereporter.com/article.php?n=new-method-uses-molecules-to-detect-exoplanets&id=152369
