Bibcode
Jenkins, James S.; Harrington, Joseph; Challener, Ryan C.; Kurtovic, Nicolás T.; Ramirez, Ricardo; Peña, Jose; McIntyre, Kathleen J.; Himes, Michael D.; Rodríguez, Eloy; Anglada-Escudé, Guillem; Dreizler, Stefan; Ofir, Aviv; Peña Rojas, Pablo A.; Ribas, Ignasi; Rojo, Patricio; Kipping, David; Butler, R. Paul; Amado, Pedro J.; Rodríguez-López, Cristina; Kempton, Eliza M.-R.; Palle, E.; Murgas, F.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 487, Issue 1, p.268-274
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7
2019
Citations
22
Refereed citations
19
Description
We report Spitzer Space Telescope observations during predicted transits
of the exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. As the nearest terrestrial
habitable-zone planet we will ever discover, any potential transit of
Proxima b would place strong constraints on its radius, bulk density,
and atmosphere. Subsequent transmission spectroscopy and
secondary-eclipse measurements could then probe the atmospheric
chemistry, physical processes, and orbit, including a search for
biosignatures. However, our photometric results rule out planetary
transits at the 200 ppm level at 4.5 μm, yielding a 3σ upper
radius limit of 0.4 R⊕ (Earth radii). Previous claims
of possible transits from optical ground- and space-based photometry
were likely correlated noise in the data from Proxima Centauri's
frequent flaring. Our study indicates dramatically reduced stellar
activity at near-to-mid infrared wavelengths, compared to the optical.
Proxima b is an ideal target for space-based infrared telescopes, if
their instruments can be configured to handle Proxima's brightness.
Related projects
Exoplanets and Astrobiology
The search for life in the universe has been driven by recent discoveries of planets around other stars (known as exoplanets), becoming one of the most active fields in modern astrophysics. The growing number of new exoplanets discovered in recent years and the recent advance on the study of their atmospheres are not only providing new valuable
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