1. Discovery and Observation Including Techniques Jennifer Bergman Korbie Dannenberg Travis Patrick

2. Summary of Midterm Presentation Known extrasolar planets –Trends in their physical and orbital characteristics Overview of Techniques –Photometric/transit method –Astrometric method –Doppler/Radial Velocity method Doppler –Planet tugs on star causing motion of the star towards and away from observer –Semiamplitude and what extrasolar planets can be detected –Precision of Doppler technique

3. Hubble Detects the First Extrasolar Planetary Atmosphere! Planet HD209458b in orbit around star HD209458 HD209458 is a near- by star ~ 150 light years away HD209458b is a huge planet (0.7 times the mass of Jupiter) that orbits very, very close to its star

4. Detection and Chemical Analysis Using Transit Method 7 hours of exposure time using STIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope Looked for sodium because sodium has such prominent signature in the visible Found half the sodium expected from models

5. In the Future… Figure out why there was less sodium than expected on HD209458b...work on atmospheric models after more measurements are made Launch into comparative atmospheric studies of extrasolar planets Measure water, methane, ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other constituents important to life in the atmospheres of extrasolar planets Design and launch telescopes and missions that will specifically look at extrasolar planets (ex: SIM, TPF, NGST) Look into cloud formation and atmospheric chemistry in extrasolar planetary atmospheres

6. Physical Characteristics in Graphical Format