Identification of the Top TESS Objects of Interest for Atmospheric Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets with JWST (2024)

Author affiliations

1 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; benjamin.j.hord@nasa.gov

2 Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA

3 School of Information and Physical Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW2308, Australia

4 Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany

5 Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

6 NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, IPAC, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

7 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, 210 Yale Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA

8 GSFC Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration, USA

9 Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

10 Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

11 Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

12 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2T8, Canada

13 Department of Physics and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA

14 Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712-1205, USA

15 Physics Department, Austin College, Sherman, TX 75090, USA

16 Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, 19C Allée du 6 AoIdentification of the Top TESS Objects of Interest for Atmospheric Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets with JWST (1)t, 4000 Liège, Belgium

17 Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Calle Vía Láctea s/n, 38200, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

18 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA

19 Division of Geological and Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

20 Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Universitetskii prospekt, 13, Moscow 119992, Russia

21 Oukaimeden Observatory, High Energy Physics and Astrophysics Laboratory, Faculty of sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

22 Acton Sky Portal (private observatory), Acton, MA 01720, USA

23 Department of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Microelectronics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

24 Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel

25 Observatori Astronómic Albanyá, Camí de Bassegoda S/N, Albanyá 17733, Girona, Spain

26 Observatoire de Genève, Département d'Astronomie, Université de Genève, Chemin Pegasi 51b, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland

27 Dipartimento di Fisica "E.R. Caianiello,"Università di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy

28 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia, 80126 Napoli, Italy

29 Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Av. Diagonal las Torres 2640, Peñalolén, Santiago, Chile

30 Millennium Institute for Astrophysics, Macul, Santiago, Chile

31 DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 328, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

32 Whipple Observatory, Amado, AZ 85645, USA

33 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai'i, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

34 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA

35 Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada

36 Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, F-38000 Grenoble, France

37 George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA

38 American Association of Variable Star Observers, 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite 410, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

39 Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Kansas University, 1082 Malott, 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA

40 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

41 Department of Multi-Disciplinary Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan

42 School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

43 Department of Astronomy, University of California Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

44 Department of Telecommunications and Teleinformatics, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

45 Phil Evans, El Sauce Observatory, Coquimbo Province, Chile

46 Caltech/IPAC, Mail Code 100-22, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

47 Departamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad de Valencia, E-46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain

48 Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad de Valencia, E-46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain

49 INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Via S.Sofia 78, I-95123, Catania, Italy

50 Komaba Institute for Science, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan

51 Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

52 NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Caltech/IPAC, MC 314-6, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

53 Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China

54 Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Torino, via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, Italy

55 Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 AoIdentification of the Top TESS Objects of Interest for Atmospheric Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets with JWST (2)t 19C, B-4000 Liège, Belgium

56 Oukaimeden Observatory, High Energy Physics and Astrophysics Laboratory, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

57 Grand Pra Observatory, 1984 Les Haudéres, Switzerland

58 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA

59 Observatori de Ca l'Ou, Carrer de dalt 18, Sant Martí Sesgueioles 08282, Barcelona, Spain

60 Crow Observatory, Portalegre, Portugal

61 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

62 Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, NJ 08544, USA

63 Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK

64 Department of Physics & Astronomy, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive MS 3F3, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA

65 Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Rabiańska 8, 87-100 Toruń, Poland

66 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA

67 SUPA Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SS, UK

68 Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

69 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA

70 Campo Catino Astronomical Observatory, Regione Lazio, Guarcino (FR), 03010, Italy

71 Space Sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, Université de Liège, Allée du 6 AoIdentification of the Top TESS Objects of Interest for Atmospheric Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets with JWST (3)t 19C, B-4000 Liège, Belgium

72 Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA

73 Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 4055 McPherson Laboratory, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA

74 Data Observatory Foundation, Providencia, Santiago, Chile

75 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA

76 Kourovka observatory, Ural Federal University, 19 Mira Street, Yekaterinburg, Russia

77 The Maury Lewin Astronomical Observatory, Glendora, CA 91741, USA

78 Astrobiology Center, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan

79 National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan

80 Astronomical Science Program, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, 2-21-1, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588, Japan

81 Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

82 NASA Exoplanet Science Institute—Caltech/IPAC, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

83 Département de physique, Université de Montréal, 1375 Avenue Thérése-Lavoie-Roux, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada

84 Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx), Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada

85 Wild Boar Remote Observatory, San Casciano in val di Pesa, Firenze, Italy

86 Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi, Catania, Italy

87 Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University, 1 bldg. 2, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia

88 Villa '39 Observatory, Landers, CA 92285, USA

89 U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, DC 20392, USA

90 Astronomy Department, 501 Campbell Hall 3411, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

91 Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Natural History Museum of Denmark & Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen K., Denmark

92 School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel

93 Department of Astronomy, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA

94 Waffelow Creek Observatory, 10780 FM 1878, Nacogdoches, TX 75961, USA

95 Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab, 670 N. A'ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA

96 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Union College, 807 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12308, USA

97 European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, Germany

98 Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Gesellsschaftstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

99 Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

100 Wild Boar Remote Observatory, San Casciano in val di Pesa, Firenze, 50026, Italy

101 American Association of Variable Star Observers, 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

102 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA

103 Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain

104 Brierfield Observatory, Bowral, NSW, Australia

105 Department of Physical Sciences, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA 19530, USA

106 Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

107 Center for Data Intensive and Time Domain Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

108 South African Astronomical Observatory, P.O. Box 9, Observatory, Cape Town 7935, South Africa

109 Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

110 INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, via Osservatorio 20, I10025, Pino Torinese, Italy

111 Kotizarovci Observatory, Sarsoni 90, 51216 Viskovo, Croatia

112 Hazelwood Observatory, Churchill, VIC 3840, Australia

113 Perth Exoplanet Survey Telescope, Perth, WA 6076, Australia

114 Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia

115 Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

116 Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland, West Street, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia

117 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

118 Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy, Stephen F. Austin State University, 1936 North Street, Nacogdoches, TX 75962, USA

Identification of the Top TESS Objects of Interest for Atmospheric Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets with JWST (2024)

FAQs

How are exoplanets discovered? ›

Astrometry means tracking the motion of a star using precise measurements. Using astrometry, exoplanets can be found by measuring tiny changes in the star's position as it wobbles around its centre of mass. The difference between the radial velocity and astrometry methods is how we look at the exoplanetary systems.

What is the transit spectroscopy method? ›

It's a technique known as "transit spectroscopy," when light from a star travels through the atmosphere of an orbiting planet and reaches our telescopes – in space or on the ground – and tells about where it's been.

Which is the most common type of method for identifying exoplanets? ›

The transit method for finding exoplanets has been wildly successful for NASA's Kepler and K2 missions, which have discovered more than 3,000 confirmed planets to date, and is currently used by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

What is the goal of NASA's transiting exoplanet survey satellite (TESS)? ›

TESS will monitor millions of stars for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. This first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey will identify planets of all sizes.

Does James Webb telescope use the transit method? ›

One method Webb is using for studying exoplanets is the transit method, which means it looks for dimming of the light from a star as its planet passes between us and the star.

What is the transit method most easily detects? ›

Transit photometry is currently the most effective and sensitive method for detecting extrasolar planets. It is a particularly advantageous method for space-based observatories that can stare continuously at stars for weeks or months.

What is the transit method in astrophysics? ›

Most known exoplanets have been discovered using the transit method. A transit occurs when a planet passes between a star and its observer. Transits within our solar system can be observed from Earth when Venus or Mercury travel between us and the Sun.

Why are exoplanets so hard to find? ›

The major problem astronomers face in trying to directly image exoplanets is that the stars they orbit are millions of times brighter than their planets. Any light reflected off of the planet or heat radiation from the planet itself is drowned out by the massive amounts of radiation coming from its host star.

What is the closest exoplanet to Earth? ›

Proxima Centauri b is the closest exoplanet to Earth, at a distance of about 4.2 ly (1.3 parsecs). It orbits Proxima Centauri every 11.186 Earth days at a distance of about 0.049 AU, over 20 times closer to Proxima Centauri than Earth is to the Sun.

How do astrophysicists detect exoplanets? ›

Using “microlensing”, the effect of gravity from an exoplanet host star to magnify the light from a more distant star when they line up in the sky. This fortuitous alignment lets astronomers see exoplanets that are otherwise difficult to spot, including those in distant star systems.

Can any exoplanets be seen from Earth? ›

No. We cannot even see all planets in our Solar System with the naked eye. Already Uranus and Neptune are too far away and to faint to be visible without a telescope. This becomes even more true for exoplanets, which are many light-years away.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Rob Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 5670

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (68 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rob Wisoky

Birthday: 1994-09-30

Address: 5789 Michel Vista, West Domenic, OR 80464-9452

Phone: +97313824072371

Job: Education Orchestrator

Hobby: Lockpicking, Crocheting, Baton twirling, Video gaming, Jogging, Whittling, Model building

Introduction: My name is Rob Wisoky, I am a smiling, helpful, encouraging, zealous, energetic, faithful, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.