File:How to Measure Exoplanet Light.jpg
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[edit]DescriptionHow to Measure Exoplanet Light.jpg |
English: These plots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show light from a distant planet, GJ 436b, and its star, as measured at six different infrared wavelengths. Astronomers use telescopes like Spitzer to measure the direct light of distant worlds, called exoplanets, and learn more about chemicals in their atmospheres.
The technique involves measuring light from an exoplanet and its star before, during and after the planet circles behind the star. (The technique only works for those planets that happen to cross behind and in front of their stars as seen from our point of view on Earth.) When the planet disappears behind the star, the total light observed drops, as seen by the dips in these light curves. This same measurement is repeated at different wavelengths of light. In this graph, the different wavelengths are on the vertical axis, and time on the horizontal axis. Those dips in the total light tell astronomers exactly how much light is coming from the planet itself. As the data demonstrate, the amount of light coming off a planet changes with different wavelengths. The differences are due to the temperature of a planet as well as its chemical makeup. In this case, astronomers were able to show that GJ 436b lacks the common planetary ingredient of methane. |
Date | |
Source | http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/image/37 |
Author | NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Stevenson (Univ. of Central Florida) |
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
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Image title |
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Copyright holder | http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/copyright.shtml |
Short title |
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Credit/Provider | NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Stevenson (Univ. of Central Florida) |
Headline | These plots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show light from a distant planet, GJ 436b, and its star, as measured at six different infrared wavelengths. |
Source | Spitzer Space Telescope |
Date and time of data generation | 21 April 2010 |
Width | 2,400 px |
Height | 3,000 px |
Bits per component |
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Compression scheme | LZW |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 09:51, 21 April 2010 |
Color space | sRGB |
Contact information |
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasadena, CA, 91125 USA |
Keywords | GJ 436b |