Colloquium

Physics Department Colloquium

Nicolas Cowan
McGill Space Institute
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
15:30
HP 4351

Abstract:

The Climates of Short-Period Planets

Solar System worlds only represent a smalll fraction of the diversity of planetary climates. In recent decades astronomers have discovered an abundnace of planets with orbital periods of days to weeks, and temperatures of thousands of degrees.  Since we have no such short-period planets in the Solar System, we must study them remotely using telescopes.  After giving a brief overview of the sorts of astronomical measurements that are currently feasible, I will describe ongoing efforts to figure out what these strange worlds are like through the lense of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b.  I will then describe how the James Webb Space Telescope will allow us to push these same observational techniques to smaller and cooler planets.

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