TESS has found thousands of possible exoplanets: Which ones should JWST study?

There are greater than 5,000 confirmed exoplanets in our galaxy. That quantity goes to rise considerably within the subsequent decade. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite tv for pc (TESS) has already cataloged greater than 4,000 candidate exoplanets, and the PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) is scheduled to launch in 2026.

We are going to quickly have greater than 10,000 worlds the place life would possibly be capable to survive. It is an incredible concept, however with so many exoplanets we do not have the sources to seek for life on all of them. So how can we prioritize our search?

That is the main target of a current paper on the pre-print server arxiv. In it, the group strives to establish the “finest in school” candidates for exoplanets that might be additional studied by the spectroscopic cameras of the James Webb Area Telescope (JWST). Their listing couldn’t solely assist astronomers discover proof of life but additionally assist us perceive the vary of atmospheres exoplanets have.

To generate their finest selections, the group sorted each identified and candidate exoplanets right into a class grid organized by planet radius and estimated floor temperature.

Inside every class, they then ranked exoplanets by a transmission spectroscopy metric (TSM) and emission spectroscopy metric (ESM). In different phrases, these exoplanets with the very best probability of getting detectable transmission or emission spectra. Since TSM and ESM solely deal with the power of the spectrum relative to the background noise, the group additional refined their rating by the potential for spectra to be detectable utilizing present observatories.

This generated a listing of 103 exoplanets from the TESS candidates. These have been then noticed via the TESS Observe-up Statement Program. Of the preliminary 103 candidates, 14 exoplanets have been independently confirmed. They symbolize the “finest in school” targets for JWST to characterize their atmospheres.

This listing will develop as there are additional exoplanet observations and extra candidate exoplanets, nevertheless it represents a stable start line. JWST is such a strong and helpful telescope that there’s super competitors for using its observing time.

By considerably narrowing the sector, this work makes a robust case for these 14 exoplanets to be added to the statement roster. They will present a baseline of atmospheres that might be extraordinarily helpful for future telescopes, such because the Atmospheric Distant-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Massive-survey (ARIEL), which is scheduled to launch in 2029.