Exoplanet Atmospheres with JWST

By: Dr. Caroline Morley
JWST has been operating for two years, and the science results it has returned so far are truly amazing! Consider its impact on exoplanet science. We stand at an incredible time in exoplanet science, as we begin to characterize worlds outside the solar system in great detail.
The exquisite capabilities of JWST allow us to see the atmospheres of planets from super-Jupiters to sub-Neptunes to Earths. Dr. Morely will highlight some of the most exciting results from the first two years of JWST science for exoplanets. She will also discuss in more detail, two aspects of exoplanet atmosphere science as it stands in mid-2024.
The first is our path to observing true Jupiter analogs, which takes us through observations of the coldest brown dwarfs and directly-imaged planets. Dr. Morely will highlight some discoveries from the first cycle of JWST observations of cold brown dwarfs, including detections of deuterium and possible aurorae.
Next, Dr. Morely will discuss how atmosphere loss may be sculpting the atmospheres of small planets, with huge implications for the next five years of studying Earth-sized planets with JWST. She let us know where she thinks the next 10 years of exoplanet atmosphere science will take us, so we may understand the breadth of data delivered to astronomers inboxes each week.
To see the video, click Exoplanet Atmospheres with JWST.