Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager
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 atmo...
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2025-01-01
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| author | 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 |
| author_facet | 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 |
| author_sort | Ryan J. Oelkers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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/ . |
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| spelling | doaj-art-f2954df41fb44b88841a12b5d8d7ce812025-02-11T09:16:35ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169313410.3847/1538-3881/ada557Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy ImagerRyan J. Oelkers0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0582-1751Luke M. Schmidt1Erika Cook2Mary Anne Limbach3D. L. DePoy4J. L. Marshall5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0710-9474Jimmy Ardoin6Mitchell Barry7Evan Batteas8Alexandra Boone9Brant Conway10Silvana Delgado Adrande11John D. Dixon12Enrique Gonzalez-Vega13Alexandra Guajardo14Landon Holcomb15Christian Lambert16Shravan Menon17Divya Mishra18Jacob Purcell19Zachary Reed20Nathan Sala21Noah Siebersma22Nhu Ngoc Ton23Raenessa M. L. Walker24Z. Franklin Wang25Kaitlin Webber26https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9762-4308Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Texas , Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA ; [email protected]; 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USACharles 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USACharles 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USADepartment 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, USAOne 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/ .https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada557Exoplanet atmospheresAstronomical instrumentationMulti-color photometry |
| spellingShingle | 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 Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager The Astronomical Journal Exoplanet atmospheres Astronomical instrumentation Multi-color photometry |
| title | Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager |
| title_full | Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager |
| title_fullStr | Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager |
| title_short | Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager |
| title_sort | ground based reconnaissance observations of 21 exoplanet atmospheres with the exoplanet transmission spectroscopy imager |
| topic | Exoplanet atmospheres Astronomical instrumentation Multi-color photometry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada557 |
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