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Project Progress

Virtual Planetary Laboratory team members have made many advances in studying Solar System worlds as analogs for exoplanet observations. In Robinson et al. (2014b), Solar occultation data for Titan from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) aboard NASA’s Cassini orbiter were used to generate the first-ever transit spectra of a well-studied, haze-rich atmosphere (Figure 1). These observations shed new light on how atmospheric hazes can limit our ability to characterize super-Earths.

Continuing on the theme of studying hazy Solar System worlds, Arney, Meadows and Crisp published an extensive analysis of ground-based observations of Venus. Venus may represent the end-state of terrestrial planet evolution, and Venus-like analogs may be common in the exoplanet population. To better understand the Venus lower atmosphere, we observed the Venus near-infrared nightside spectral windows from the ground to produce the first simultaneous maps of lower atmosphere cloud opacity, droplet sulfuric acid percentage, and trace gases (H₂O, SO₂, HCl, OCS, and CO). These maps reveal interrelationships of multiple chemical species: OCS and CO show a strong anti-correlation indicating chemical conversion between these species, and water vapor displays a surprising banding pattern on some nights that may be associated with rainout.

Virtual Planetary Laboratory team members have also participated in projects related to comparative planetology of planetary atmospheres and orbital dynamics. In Robinson and Catling (2014), VPL scientists used simple models to explain why Earth, Titan, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all have a local minimum in their atmospheric temperatures near 0.1 bar (Figure 2). By understanding the generalities of this phenomenon, Robinson and Catling were able to conclude that many exoplanets will also have 0.1 bar temperature minima, which could be used to help deduce the surface temperature or pressure of a potentially Earth-like planet, thereby constraining its habitability. And, finally, in Kane et al. (2013), VPL team member Sean Raymond collaborated on an interpretation of compact Kepler multi-planet systems based on our understanding of moon systems in the Solar System.