Earth’s atmosphere’s lowest layers probed during a lunar eclipse

Variations in the sky brightness during a lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse is conjectured to have influence on the physical conditions of an environmental area, particularly on the brightness of the sky. The phenomenon might also be relevant on weather parameters change on Earth, such as temperature, humidity and pressure, though a straightforward correlation is not easy to establish. This work mainly aims at measuring the brightness of the sky a...

Chemistry of Silicate Atmospheres of Evaporating Super- Earths

Lunar eclipse observations reveal anomalous thermal performance of Apollo reflectors

Laser ranging measurements during the total lunar eclipse on 2010 December 21 verify previously suspected thermal lensing in the retroreflectors left on the lunar surface by the Apollo astronauts. Signal levels during the eclipse far exceeded those historically seen at full moon, and varied over an order of magnitude as the eclipse progressed. These variations can be understood via a straightfo...

Photochemistry in Terrestrial Exoplanet Atmospheres III: Photochemistry and Thermochemistry in Thick Atmospheres on Super Earths and Mini Neptunes

Some super Earths and mini Neptunes will likely have thick atmospheres that are not H2-dominated. We have developed a photochemistry-thermochemistry kinetic-transport model for exploring the compositions of thick atmospheres on super Earths and mini Neptunes, applicable for both H2-dominated atmospheres and non-H2-dominated atmospheres. Using this model to study thick atmospheres for wide range...

A Systematic Retrieval Analysis of Secondary Eclipse Spectra Iii: Diagnosing Chemical Disequilibrium in Planetary Atmospheres

Chemical disequilibrium has recently become a relevant topic in the study of the atmospheres of of transiting extrasolar planets, brown dwarfs, and directly imaged exoplanets. We present a new way of assessing whether or not a Jovian-like atmosphere is in chemical disequilibrium from observations of detectable or inferred gases such as H2O, CH4, CO, and H2. Our hypothesis, based on previous kin...