Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: We discuss the possibility of screening the atmosphere of exomoons for habitability.We concentrate on Earth-like satellites of extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) that orbit in the Habitable Zone (HZ) of their host stars.The detectability of exomoons for EGPs in the HZ has recently been shown to be feasible with the Kepler Mission or equivalent photometry using transit duration observations.Transmission spectroscopy of exomoons is a unique potential tool to screen them for habitability in the near future, especially around low mass stars.Using the Earth itself as a proxy we show the potential and limits of spectroscopy to detect biomarkers on an Earth-like exomoon and discuss effects of tidal locking for such potential habitats.
Author: L. Kaltenegger
Institution: Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: NASA Astrobiology Institute
OpenAlex ID: W1484099654