Ben Placek
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Relativistic Beaming as a Probe of Stellar and Planetary Masses Open
The primary method of extra-solar planet (exoplanet) detection and characterization is through planetary transits. These events occur when a planet is observed to pass in front of it’s host star with respect to the observers line of sight,…
View article: Simultaneous multicolour optical and near-IR transit photometry of GJ 1214b with SOFIA
Simultaneous multicolour optical and near-IR transit photometry of GJ 1214b with SOFIA Open
\n Context. The benchmark exoplanet GJ 1214b is one of the best studied transiting planets in the transition zone between rocky Earth-sized planets and gas or ice giants. This class of super-Earth or mini-Neptune planets is unknown in our …
Analyzing Exoplanet Phase Curve Information Content: Toward Optimized Observing Strategies Open
Secondary eclipses and phase curves reveal information about the reflectivity and heat distribution in exoplanet atmospheres. The phase curve is composed of a combination of reflected and thermally emitted light from the planet, and for ci…
Combining Photometry from<i>Kepler</i>and<i>TESS</i>to Improve Short-period Exoplanet Characterization Open
Planets emit thermal radiation and reflect incident light that they recieve from their host stars. As a planet orbits it's host star the photometric variations associated with these two effects produce very similar phase curves. If observe…
Predictable patterns in planetary transit timing variations and transit duration variations due to exomoons Open
We present new ways to identify single and multiple moons around extrasolar planets using planetary transit timing variations (TTVs) and transit duration variations (TDVs). For planets with one moon, measurements from successive transits e…
The detection and characterization of exoplanets with EXONEST Open
The EXONEST software package has recently been developed for the purposes of the photometric detection and characterization of exoplanets. EXONEST employs a Bayesian inference engine, which allows one to simultaneously perform both paramet…