Characterizing the Coldest Exoplanets

The coldest known exoplanets are still much hotter than the gas giant planets in our own Solar System.  Pushing to colder temperatures requires observing in the thermal infrared (3-5 microns) where self-luminous gas-giants peak in brightness. 

Dr. Andrew Skemer, UC Santa Cruz, will present observational studies characterizing the atmospheres of the coldest exoplanets and the coldest brown dwarf.  These observations include a planet whose metallicity is higher than its host star, and a 250 K brown dwarf which shows signs of water clouds.  Additionally, he will describe a new instrument that can obtain spectroscopy of directly imaged planets from 3-5 microns.