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We present observations of six transits and six eclipses of the transiting planet system HD 189733 taken with the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at 8 mm, as well as a re-analysis of previously published data. We use several novel techniques in our data analysis, the most important of which is a new correction for the detector "ramp" variation with a double-exponential function, which performs better and is a better physical model for this detector variation. Our main scientific findings are (1) an upper limit on the variability of the dayside planet flux of 2.7% (68% confidence); (2) the most precise set of transit times measured for a transiting planet, with an average accuracy of 3 s; (3) a lack of transit-timing variations, excluding the presence of second planets in this system above 20% of the mass of Mars in low-order mean-motion resonance at 95% confidence; (4) a confirmation of the planet's phase variation, finding the night side is 64% as bright as the day side, as well as an upper limit on the nightside variability of 17% (68% confidence); (5) a better correction for stellar variability at 8 mm causing the phase function to peak 3.5 hr before secondary eclipse, confirming that the advection and radiation timescales are comparable at the 8 mm photosphere; (6) variation in the depth of transit, which possibly implies variations in the surface brightness of the portion of the star occulted by the planet, posing a fundamental limit on non-simultaneous multi-wavelength transit absorption measurements of planet atmospheres; (7) a measurement of the infrared limb darkening of the star, which is in good agreement with stellar atmosphere models; (8) an offset in the times of secondary eclipse of 69 s, which is mostly accounted for by a 31 s light-travel time delay and 33 s delay due to the shift of ingress and egress by the planet hot spot; this confirms that the phase variation is due to an offset hot spot on the planet; (9) a retraction of the claimed eccentricity of this system due to the offset of secondary eclipse, which is now just an upper limit; and (10) high-precision measurements of the parameters of this system. These results were enabled by the exquisite photometric precision of Spitzer IRAC; for repeat observations the scatter is less than 0.35 mmag over the 590 day timescale of our observations after decorrelating with detector parameters.

We monitor the star HD 149026 and its Saturn-mass planet at 8.0 mm over slightly more than half an orbit using the Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We find an increase of 0.0227% +- 0.0066% (3.4s significance) in the combined planet-star flux during this interval. The minimum flux from the planet is 45% +- 19% of the maximum planet flux, corresponding to a difference in brightness temperature of 480 +- 140 K between the two hemispheres. We derive a new secondary eclipse depth of 0.0411% +- 0.0076% in this band, corresponding to a dayside brightness temperature of 1440 +- 150 K. Our new secondary eclipse depth is half that of a previous measurement (3.0s difference) in this same bandpass by Harrrington et al. We re-fit the Harrrington et al. data and obtain a comparably good fit with a smaller eclipse depth that is consistent with our new value. In contrast to earlier claims, our new eclipse depth suggests that this planet's dayside emission spectrum is relatively cool, with an 8 mm brightness temperature that is less than the maximum planet-wide equilibrium temperature. We measure the interval between the transit and secondary eclipse and find that that the secondary eclipse occurs 20.9+7.2 -6.5 minutes earlier (2.9s) than predicted for a circular orbit, a marginally significant result. This corresponds to ecos(o) = -0.0079+0.0027 -0.0025, where e is the planet's orbital eccentricity and o is the argument of pericenter.

When Earth-mass extrasolar planets first become detectable, one challenge will be to determine which of these worlds harbor liquid water, a widely used criterion for habitability. Some of the first observations of these planets will consist of disc-averaged, time-resolved broadband photometry. To simulate such data, the Deep Impact spacecraft obtained light curves of Earth at seven wavebands spanning 300-1000 nm as part of the EPOXI mission of opportunity. In this paper, we analyze disc-integrated light curves, treating Earth as if it were an exoplanet, to determine if we can detect the presence of oceans and continents. We present two observations each spanning 1 day, taken at gibbous phases of 57deg and 77deg, respectively. As expected, the time-averaged spectrum of Earth is blue at short wavelengths due to Rayleigh scattering, and gray redward of 600 nm due to reflective clouds. The rotation of the planet leads to diurnal albedo variations of 15%-30%, with the largest relative changes occurring at the reddest wavelengths. To characterize these variations in an unbiased manner, we carry out a principal component analysis of the multi-band light curves; this analysis reveals that 98% of the diurnal color changes of Earth are due to only two dominant eigencolors. We use the time variations of these two eigencolors to construct longitudinal maps of the Earth, treating it as a non-uniform Lambert sphere. We find that the spectral and spatial distributions of the eigencolors correspond to cloud-free continents and oceans despite the fact that our observations were taken on days with typical cloud cover. We also find that the near-infrared wavebands are particularly useful in distinguishing between land and water. Based on this experiment, we conclude that it should be possible to infer the existence of water oceans on exoplanets with time-resolved broadband observations taken by a large space-based coronagraphic telescope.

We present new Spitzer observations of the phase variation of the hot Jupiter HD 189733b in the MIPS 24 mm bandpass, spanning the same part of the planet's orbit as our previous observations in the IRAC 8 mm bandpass (Knutson et al. 2007). We find that the minimum hemisphere-averaged flux from the planet in this bandpass is 76% +- 3% of the maximum flux; this corresponds to minimum and maximum hemisphere-averaged brightness temperatures of 984 +- 48 K and 1220 +- 47 K, respectively. The planet reaches its maximum flux at an orbital phase of 0.396 +- 0.022, corresponding to a hot region shifted 20deg-30deg east of the substellar point. Because tidally locked hot Jupiters would have enormous day-night temperature differences in the absence of winds, the small amplitude of the observed phase variation indicates that the planet's atmosphere efficiently transports thermal energy from the day side to the night side at the 24 mm photosphere, leading to modest day-night temperature differences. The similarities between the 8 and 24 mm phase curves for HD 189733b lead us to conclude that the circulation on this planet behaves in a fundamentally similar fashion across the range of pressures sensed by these two wavelengths. One-dimensional radiative transfer models indicate that the 8 mm band should probe pressures 2-3 times greater than at 24 mm, although the uncertain methane abundance complicates the interpretation. If these two bandpasses do probe different pressures, it would indicate that the temperature varies only weakly between the two sensed depths, and hence that the atmosphere is not convective at these altitudes. We also present an analysis of the possible contribution of star spots to the time series at both 8 and 24 mm based on near-simultaneous ground-based observations and additional Spitzer observations. Accounting for the effects of these spots results in a slightly warmer night-side temperature for the planet in both bandpasses, but does not otherwise affect our conclusions.

Launching in 2028, ESA's 0.64 m2Atmospheric Remote-sensing Exoplanet Large-survey (ARIEL) survey of ?1000 transiting exoplanets will build on the legacies of NASA's Keplerand Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite(TESS), and complement theJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST) by placing its high-precision exoplanet observations into a large, statistically significant planetary population context. With continuous 0.5-7.8 ?m coverage from both FGS (0.5-0.6, 0.6-0.81, and 0.81-1.1 ?m photometry; 1.1-1.95 ?m spectroscopy) and AIRS (1.95-7.80 ?m spectroscopy), ARIEL will determine atmospheric compositions and probe planetary formation histories during its 3.5 yr mission. NASA's proposed Contribution to ARIEL Spectroscopy of Exoplanets (CASE) would be a subsystem of ARIEL's Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) instrument consisting of two visible-to-infrared detectors, associated readout electronics, and thermal control hardware. FGS, to be built by the Polish Academy of Sciences Space Research Centre, will provide both fine guiding and visible to near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy, providing powerful diagnostics of atmospheric aerosol contribution and planetary albedo, which play a crucial role in establishing planetary energy balance. The CASE team presents here an independent study of the capabilities of ARIEL to measure exoplanetary metallicities, which probe the conditions of planet formation, and FGS to measure scattering spectral slopes, which indicate if an exoplanet has atmospheric aerosols (clouds and hazes), and geometric albedos, which help establish planetary climate. Our simulations assume that ARIEL's performance will be 1.3× the photon-noise limit. This value is motivated by current transiting exoplanet observations: Spitzer/IRAC and Hubble/WFC3 have empirically achieved 1.15× the photon-noise limit. One could expect similar performance from ARIEL, JWST, and other proposed future missions such as HabEx, LUVOIR, and Origins. Our design reference mission simulations show that ARIEL could measure the mass-metallicity relationship of its 1000-planet single-visit sample to >7.5?and that FGS could distinguish between clear, cloudy, and hazy skies and constrain an exoplanet's atmospheric aerosol composition to ?5?for hundreds of targets, providing statistically transformative science for exoplanet atmospheres.

A key legacy of the recently launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite(TESS) mission will be to provide the astronomical community with many of the best transiting exoplanet targets for atmospheric characterization. However, time is of the essence to take full advantage of this opportunity. The James Webb Space Telescope(JWST), although delayed, will still complete its nominal five year mission on a timeline that motivates rapid identification, confirmation, and mass measurement of the top atmospheric characterization targets from TESS. Beyond JWST, future dedicated missions for atmospheric studies such as the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey(ARIEL) require the discovery and confirmation of several hundred additional sub-Jovian size planets (Rp< 10 R?) orbiting bright stars, beyond those known today, to ensure a successful statistical census of exoplanet atmospheres. Ground-based extremely large telescopes (ELTs) will also contribute to surveying the atmospheres of the transiting planets discovered by TESS. Here we present a set of two straightforward analytic metrics, quantifying the expected signal-to-noise in transmission and thermal emission spectroscopy for a given planet, that will allow the top atmospheric characterization targets to be readily identified among the TESSplanet candidates. Targets that meet our proposed threshold values for these metrics would be encouraged for rapid follow-up and confirmation via radial velocity mass measurements. Based on the catalog of simulated TESSdetections by Sullivan et al., we determine appropriate cutoff values of the metrics, such that the TESSmission will ultimately yield a sample of ?300 high-quality atmospheric characterization targets across a range of planet size bins, extending down to Earth-size, potentially habitable worlds.

Using forward models for representative exoplanet atmospheres and a radiometric instrument model, we generated synthetic observational data to explore how well the major C- and O-bearing chemical species (CO, CO2, CH4, and H2O), important for determining atmospheric opacity and radiation balance, can be constrained by transit measurements as a function of spectral wavelength coverage. This work features simulations for a notional transit spectroscopy mission and compares two cases for instrument spectral coverage (wavelength coverage from 0.5-2.5 ?m and 0.5-5 ?m). The simulation is conducted on a grid with a range of stellar magnitudes and incorporates a full retrieval of atmospheric model parameters. We consider a range of planets from sub-Neptunes to hot Jupiters and include both low and high mean molecular weight atmospheres. We find that including the 2.5-5 ?m wavelength range provides a significant improvement in the degree of constraint on the retrieved molecular abundances: up to ?3 orders of magnitude for a low mean molecular weight atmosphere (?= 2.3) and up to a factor of ?6 for a high mean molecular weight atmosphere (?= 28). These decreased uncertainties imply that broad spectral coverage between the visible and the mid-infrared is an important tool for understanding the chemistry and composition of exoplanet atmospheres. This analysis suggests that the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST)Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) 0.6-5 ?m prism spectroscopy mode, or similar wavelength coverage with possible future missions, will be an important resource for exoplanet atmospheric characterization.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)will likely revolutionize transiting exoplanet atmospheric science, due to a combination of its capability for continuous, long duration observations and its larger collecting area, spectral coverage, and spectral resolution compared to existing space-based facilities. However, it is unclear precisely how well JWSTwill perform and which of its myriad instruments and observing modes will be best suited for transiting exoplanet studies. In this article, we describe a prefatory JWSTEarly Release Science (ERS) Cycle 1 program that focuses on testing specific observing modes to quickly give the community the data and experience it needs to plan more efficient and successful transiting exoplanet characterization programs in later cycles. We propose a multi-pronged approach wherein one aspect of the program focuses on observing transits of a single target with all of the recommended observing modes to identify and understand potential systematics, compare transmission spectra at overlapping and neighboring wavelength regions, confirm throughputs, and determine overall performances. In our search for transiting exoplanets that are well suited to achieving these goals, we identify 12 objects (dubbed "community targets") that meet our defined criteria. Currently, the most favorable target is WASP-62b because of its large predicted signal size, relatively bright host star, and location in JWST's continuous viewing zone. Since most of the community targets do not have well-characterized atmospheres, we recommend initiating preparatory observing programs to determine the presence of obscuring clouds/hazes within their atmospheres. Measurable spectroscopic features are needed to establish the optimal resolution and wavelength regions for exoplanet characterization. Other initiatives from our proposed ERS program include testing the instrument brightness limits and performing phase-curve observations. The latter are a unique challenge compared to transit observations because of their significantly longer durations. Using only a single mode, we propose to observe a full-orbit phase curve of one of the previously characterized, short-orbital-period planets to evaluate the facility-level aspects of long, uninterrupted time-series observations.

We have obtained the first time-resolved, disk-integrated observations of Earth's poles with the Deep Impact spacecraft as part of the EPOXI mission of opportunity. These data mimic what we will see when we point next-generation space telescopes at nearby exoplanets. We use principal component analysis (PCA) and rotational light curve inversion to characterize color inhomogeneities and map their spatial distribution from these unusual vantage points, as a complement to the equatorial views presented by Cowan et al. in 2009. We also perform the same PCA on a suite of simulated rotational multi-band light curves from NASA's Virtual Planetary Laboratory three-dimensional spectral Earth model. This numerical experiment allows us to understand what sorts of surface features PCA can robustly identify. We find that the EPOXI polar observations have similar broadband colors as the equatorial Earth, but with 20%-30% greater apparent albedo. This is because the polar observations are most sensitive to mid-latitudes, which tend to be more cloudy than the equatorial latitudes emphasized by the original EPOXI Earth observations. The cloudiness of the mid-latitudes also manifests itself in the form of increased variability at short wavelengths in the polar observations and as a dominant gray eigencolor in the south polar observation. We construct a simple reflectance model for a snowball Earth. By construction, our model has a higher Bond albedo than the modern Earth; its surface albedo is so high that Rayleigh scattering does not noticeably affect its spectrum. The rotational color variations occur at short wavelengths due to the large contrast between glacier ice and bare land in those wavebands. Thus, we find that both the broadband colors and diurnal color variations of such a planet would be easily distinguishable from the modern-day Earth, regardless of viewing angle.

If both the day-side and night-side effective temperatures of a planet can be measured, it is possible to estimate its Bond albedo, 0 < AB < 1, as well as its day-night heat redistribution efficiency, 0 < e < 1. We attempt a statistical analysis of the albedo and redistribution efficiency for 24 transiting exoplanets that have at least one published secondary eclipse. For each planet, we show how to calculate a sub-stellar equilibrium temperature, T 0, and associated uncertainty. We then use a simple model-independent technique to estimate a planet's effective temperature from planet/star flux ratios. We use thermal secondary eclipse measurements--those obtained at l>0.8 um--to estimate day-side effective temperatures, T d, and thermal phase variations--when available--to estimate night-side effective temperature. We strongly rule out the "null hypothesis" of a single AB and e for all 24 planets. If we allow each planet to have different parameters, we find that low Bond albedos are favored (AB < 0.35 at 1s confidence), which is an independent confirmation of the low albedos inferred from non-detections of reflected light. Our sample exhibits a wide variety of redistribution efficiencies. When normalized by T 0, the day-side effective temperatures of the 24 planets describe a uni-modal distribution. The two biggest outliers are GJ 436b (abnormally hot) and HD 80606b (abnormally cool), and these are the only eccentric planets in our sample. The dimensionless quantity T d/T 0 exhibits no trend with the presence or absence of stratospheric inversions. There is also no clear trend between T d/T 0 and T 0. That said, the six planets with the greatest sub-stellar equilibrium temperatures (T > 2400 K) have low e, as opposed to the 18 cooler planets, which show a variety of recirculation efficiencies. This hints that the very hottest transiting giant planets are qualitatively different from the merely hot Jupiters. We propose an explanation of this trend based on how a planet's radiative and advective times scale with temperature: both timescales are expected to be shorter for hotter planets, but the temperature dependence of the radiative timescale is stronger, leading to decreased heat recirculation efficiency.

We present photometry of the giant extrasolar planet WASP-4b at 3.6 and 4.5 mm taken with the Infrared Array Camera on board the Spitzer Space Telescope as part of Spitzer's extended warm mission. We find secondary eclipse depths of 0.319% +- 0.031% and 0.343% +- 0.027% for the 3.6 and 4.5 mm bands, respectively, and show model emission spectra and pressure-temperature profiles for the planetary atmosphere. These eclipse depths are well fit by model emission spectra with water and other molecules in absorption, similar to those used for TrES-3 and HD 189733b. Depending on our choice of model, these results indicate that this planet has either a weak dayside temperature inversion or no inversion at all. The absence of a strong thermal inversion on this highly irradiated planet is contrary to the idea that highly irradiated planets are expected to have inversions, perhaps due the presence of an unknown absorber in the upper atmosphere. This result might be explained by the modestly enhanced activity level of WASP-4b's G7V host star, which could increase the amount of UV flux received by the planet, therefore reducing the abundance of the unknown stratospheric absorber in the planetary atmosphere as suggested in Knutson et al. We also find no evidence for an offset in the timing of the secondary eclipse and place a 2s upper limit on |ecos o| of 0.0024, which constrains the range of tidal heating models that could explain this planet's inflated radius.

We present a semi-analytic model atmosphere for close-in exoplanets that captures the essential physics of phase curves: orbital and viewing geometry, advection, and re-radiation. We calibrate the model with the well-characterized transiting planet, HD 189733b, then compute light curves for seven of the most eccentric transiting planets: Gl 436b, HAT-P-2b, HAT-P-11b, HD 17156b, HD 80606b, WASP-17b, and XO-3b. We present phase variations for a variety of different radiative times and wind speeds. In the limit of instant re-radiation, the light-curve morphology is entirely dictated by the planet's eccentricity and argument of pericenter: the light curve maximum leads or trails the eclipse depending on whether the planet is receding from or approaching the star at superior conjunction, respectively. For a planet with non-zero radiative timescales, the phase peak occurs early for super-rotating winds, and late for sub-rotating winds. We find that for a circular orbit, the timing of the phase variation maximum with respect to superior conjunction indicates the direction of the dominant winds, but cannot break the degeneracy between wind speed and radiative time. For circular planets the phase minimum occurs half an orbit away from the phase maximum--despite the fact that the coolest longitudes are always near the dawn terminator--and therefore does not convey any additional information. In general, increasing the advective frequency or the radiative time has the effect of reducing the peak-to-trough amplitude of phase variations, but there are interesting exceptions to these trends. Lastly, eccentric planets with orbital periods significantly longer than their radiative time exhibit "ringing," whereby the hot spot generated at periastron rotates in and out of view. The existence of ringing makes it possible to directly measure the wind speed (the frequency of the ringing) and the radiative time constant (the damping of the ringing).

We measure secondary eclipses of the hot giant exoplanets CoRoT-1 at 3.6 and 4.5 mm, and CoRoT-2 at 3.6 mm, both using Warm Spitzer. We find that the Warm Spitzer mission is working very well for exoplanet science. For consistency of our analysis we also re-analyze archival cryogenic Spitzer data for secondary eclipses of CoRoT-2 at 4.5 and 8 mm. We compare the total data for both planets, including optical eclipse measurements by the CoRoT mission, and ground-based eclipse measurements at 2 mm, to existing models. Both planets exhibit stronger eclipses at 4.5 than at 3.6 mm, which is often indicative of an atmospheric temperature inversion. The spectrum of CoRoT-1 is best reproduced by a 2460 K blackbody, due either to a high altitude layer that strongly absorbs stellar irradiance, or an isothermal region in the planetary atmosphere. The spectrum of CoRoT-2 is unusual because the 8 mm contrast is anomalously low. Non-inverted atmospheres could potentially produce the CoRoT-2 spectrum if the planet exhibits line emission from CO at 4.5 mm, caused by tidal-induced mass loss. However, the viability of that hypothesis is questionable because the emitting region cannot be more than about 30% larger than the planet's transit radius, based on the ingress and egress times at eclipse. An alternative possibility to account for the spectrum of CoRoT-2 is an additional opacity source that acts strongly at wavelengths less than 5 mm, heating the upper atmosphere while allowing the deeper atmosphere seen at 8 mm to remain cooler. We obtain a similar result as Gillon et al. for the phase of the secondary eclipse of CoRoT-2, implying an eccentric orbit with e cos(o) = -0.0030 +- 0.0004.