Date of Award
5-2025
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Academic Program
Physics BS
Department
Physics and Astronomy
First Advisor
Christopher Sirola, Ph.D.
Advisor Department
Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Recent research has made it possible to use spectroscopy to analyze the composition of the atmospheres of exoplanets, planets that orbit other stars. Most projects thus far have focused on the atmospheres of gas giants, as it is less challenging to observe them with available equipment. This project studies the atmospheres of four Super- Earths, planets that have a mass greater than the Earth but smaller than Neptune. This is accomplished by processing the raw spectroscopic data from the Hubble Space Telescope and modeling the atmosphere using the program π-Rex3. This survey found clear results from two of the selected planets, but the spectra from the other planets were too weak to model in π-Rex3 effectively. Nonetheless, the presence of specific compounds was detected.
Copyright
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Recommended Citation
Brust, Luke, "A Spectroscopic Survey of Atmospheres of Super-Earths" (2025). Honors Theses. 1032.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/1032
Included in
Analytical Chemistry Commons, Numerical Analysis and Computation Commons, Other Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons