JWST Transiting Exoplanet Scientists

Nikole Lewis, Transiting Exoplanet Working Group Lead

Transiting Exoplanet Meetings

Enabling Transiting Exoplanet Science with JWST

This workshop will provide a forum for the transiting exoplanet community to learn about and discuss the capabilities of JWST to characterize transiting exoplanets. Talks will inform potential observers about the cutting edge science that JWST will enable. Discussion sessions will allow for community dialog on how best to enable transiting exoplanet science with JWST. As JWST proposal opportunities approach, this workshop will serve as an important opportunity to understand how JWST will impact the field of transiting exoplanet science.

Dates: November 16-18, 2015

Where: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Webcast: View the 2015 Enabling Transiting Exoplanet Science with JWST Webcast.

White Papers

Observations of Transiting Exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Citation: Beichman, C., et al. 2014, PASP, 126, 1134-1173

History of Transiting Exoplanet Science With Observatories Like Hubble And Spitzer

Exoplanets Figure 7 — Lewis. et al. 2013

NASA's flagship observatories have provided many successes in transiting exoplanet exploration. These missions, like Hubble and Spitzer, have directly led to new discoveries of transiting exoplanets, their properties and has enhanced knowledge of exoplanetary atmospheres. Among the many discoveries are:

Confirmation of secondary eclipses
Identification of molecules and atoms
Primary eclipse detection
Day-Night temperature gradients
Atmospheric escape

Spitzer IRAC High Precision Photometry

The New Capabilities Provided by JWST

JWST is ~ 100 times more powerful than the Hubble and Spitzer observatories. It has greater sensitivity, higher spatial resolution in the infrared, and significantly higher spectral resolution in the mid infrared.

JWST Quick Facts

6.5 meter primary aperture
0.6 - 28.5 micron wavelength range
Diffraction-limited 65 mas resolution at 2 microns
Unprecedented near-to-mid infrared sensitivity
Slitless spectroscopy modes covering 0.6-14 microns
Imaging and spectroscopic modes for bright objects

Sample Data and Tools

Example Transiting Exoplanet Science with JWST

SODRM

General Tools and Software

James Webb Space Telescope Transiting Exoplanets