ESA's M4 Ariel mission, scheduled for launch in 2029, will spectroscopically characterize the atmospheres of a large and diverse sample of hundreds of exoplanets. Using a 1-m class all-aluminum Cassegrain telescope, Ariel will detect the atmospheric signatures of the small, < 100 ppm, modulation induced by exoplanets on the bright host star signals using transit, eclipse, and phase curve spectroscopy. Three photometric and three spectroscopic channels with Nyquist sampled focal planes simultaneously cover the 0.5-7.8 micron region of the electromagnetic spectrum to maximize observing efficiency and reduce systematics of astrophysical and instrumental origin. The jitter in the spacecraft’s line of sight is an especially significant source of disturbance when measuring the spectra of exoplanet atmospheres, if left uncorrected. This contribution reviews the predicted performance of Ariel, the design solutions implemented, and an improved detrending technique to correct for the jitter disturbance post-processing that will allow Ariel to achieve the required sensitivity and control of systematics.
17/10/2024
Speaker: Andrea Bocchieri (Department of Physics, "Sapienza" University of Rome)
https://meet.google.com/dnn-zdwd-anj