Astronomers Get A Direct, Detailed Look At An Exoplanet's Atmosphere

This artist's concept shows the planet HR8799e - a hot, young planet with carbon monoxide skies and storm clouds of iron and silicate dust. (Credit: ESO/L. Calçada) Most exoplanet observations are indirect, inferring the existence and characteristics of a planet by watching the light or motion of its host star. But direct exoplanet observations have begun, and the GRAVITY instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer in Cerro Paranal, Chile, is leading the way. In a paper published March 27 in Astronomy & Astrophysics, the GRAVITY Collaboration presents a peek at the swirling, stormy atmosphere of the exoplanet HR8799e using optical interferometry, which combines light from several telescopes to create a single “virtual” telescope with a bigger size. It is the first time an exoplanet has been studied with this technique, offering a picture 10 times more detailed than previous observations.