Juan Barreto: responses from EXO_1

Week 1: Planets and the Solar System

1.5 Other objects in the Solar System
Activity 3 Planet, dwarf planet, moon, or something else?

Using the internet to help where necessary, identify each of the following objects as either a planet, dwarf
planet, moon or something else.

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1. Vital statistics: approximately half the size of Earth, rocky, round, orbits Saturn.

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moon

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

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2. Vital statistics: approximately one-third the size of Earth, rocky, orbits the Sun, found in the distant region of
the Solar System called the Kuiper Belt (like Eris).

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dwarf planet

Haumea, a dwarf planet. Although Haumea is rounded it is less spherical than other dwarf planets because it is
rapidly spinning.

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3. Vital statistics: a few kilometres across, icy, orbits the Sun.

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comets

Comet 67P, on which the Philae spacecraft landed in 2014.

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4. Vital statistics: a few tens of kilometres across, rocky, orbits the Sun.

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asteroid

Ida, an asteroid (larger body) and Dactyl, a baby asteroid that orbits the larger body like a mini-moon (smaller
body).

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Week 5: How to measure your exoplanet

5.3 Small rocky planets
Activity 4 The transit depth

1. Half the size of Jupiter’s radius? (Hint: think about how the cross-sectional area of the planet would
change – you may find Equation 1 useful.)

insignificant

Answer: 0.25% or ¼%

The cross-sectional area of the planet depends on the square of its radius. If the radius is halved then the area
will be quartered (1/2 × 1/2 = 1/4).
This means that the transit depth will also be quartered. The transit depth for Jupiter is roughly 1%, so the transit
depth for this smaller planet will be about 1/4%.

If you prefer, from Equation 1, if Rp is halved and Rstar stays the same then the ratio Rp/Rstar will be halved, and
so (Rp/Rstar)2 will be quartered.

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2. One-third the size of Jupiter’s radius?

1/9%

Answer: 0.111% or 1/9%

The cross-sectional area of the planet depends on the square of its radius. If the radius is multiplied by 1/3 then
the area will be multiplied by 1/3 × 1/3 = 1/9.

This means that the transit depth will also be multiplied by 1/9. The transit depth for Jupiter is roughly 1%, so
the transit depth for this smaller planet will be about 1/9%.

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3. One-tenth the size of Jupiter’s radius?

0,01%

Answer: 0.01% or 1/100%

The cross-sectional area of the planet depends on the square of its radius. If the radius is multiplied by 1/10 then
the area will be multiplied by 1/10 × 1/10 = 1/100.

This means that the transit depth will also be multiplied by 1/100. The transit depth for Jupiter is roughly 1%, so
the transit depth for this smaller planet will be about 1/100% or 0.01%.

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5.6 The population of known transiting planets

Activity 5 Exploring Exoplanet.eu – this time it’s transits
From the list of transiting planets given at Exoplanet.eu, identify some of the other transit search projects. Note
their names in the box below before looking at the answer.

CoRoT
EPIC
GJ
HAT-P
HATS
HD
HIP
HR
K2
KELT
KIC
KOI
Kepler
MASACARA
NGTS
OGLE-TR
TOI
TRAPPIST
WASP
XO

Transit search projects generally name their planets with a name or an acronym, followed by a hyphen that
connects it to a number, which in turn is followed by a space and a lower-case letter; e.g. WASP-1 b. Projects
using this naming convention include EPIC, K2, HATS, HAT-P, KELT, WASP, XO, CoRoT and Qatar.

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Make a note of the number of planets discovered by:

i. their transits
ii. the radial velocity method.

Hint: use the ‘Detection’ drop-down menu to filter the results.

2947 T
839 RV

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Why do you think so many more planets have been discovered using the transit method than any other? Why is
the radial velocity technique more difficult?
RV need a stationary observer in each star for a long time

Radial velocity measurements can only be made for bright stars by spreading the light. This requires large
telescopes and specialised equipment that look at only one star at a time.

Transit searches observe many thousands of stars simultaneously, and are looking for a drop in the total amount
of light from a star. This is an easier thing to measure than a small wavelength shift.

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6.3 How hot?!

Activity 6 Hotter or colder?

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What is the planet equilibrium temperature of HD 209458 b?

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1310 k

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Express the equilibrium temperature of HD 209458 b in °C.

1037°C

1037 °C. Remember, to do the conversion, simply subtract 273. 1310 − 273 = 1037.

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What happens if you increase the mass of the star?

increase equilibrium temperture

Both the star and the planet get hotter.

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What happens if you increase the planet’s orbital distance from its star?

planet surface cooler

The planet gets cooler.

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Can you work out what temperature HD 209458 b should be if it was four times as far from its star? Express
your answer in kelvin. Use the interactive application to find out or check your answer.

reduce to half

With atotal = 0.2 AU, the interactive application gives 657 K. This is half the temperature of HD 209458 b (give
or take a few – the precision of the sliders is not perfect!), in accord with fact 3 above.

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Can you find different combinations of stellar mass and planet distance that produce planets with the same
temperature as HD 209458 b?

yes, it is possible

Yes, you should be able to. If you increase the stellar mass, the planet becomes hotter. Then if you move the
planet further away from its star until it cools to an equilibrium temperature of 1310 K, you can get a
combination that fits. By playing in this way, you should be able to find an appropriate combination for every
value of the stellar mass covered by the slider in the interactive application.

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7 Density is key
Activity 7 Rocky or not?
 1. Kepler-11 c

rocky

No, it’s density is less than that of a sphere composed purely of water-ice. This is shown by the fact that it’s
above the solid dark blue line in the diagram.

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2. 55 Cnc e

rocky

Yes, maybe, it’s density is probably a bit less than a sphere composed entirely of silicate rock but more dense
than one composed of water-ice.

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3. Kepler-10 b

rocky

Yes, it has a density between those of Earth and Mercury.

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4. GJ 1214 b

water-ice

No, it’s density is less than that of a sphere composed purely of water-ice.

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