Franck Selsis et al 2008 Phys. Scr. 2008 014032 doi:10.1088/0031-8949/2008/T130/014032
Franck Selsis1,2, Lisa Kaltenegger3 and Jimmy Paillet4
Show affiliationsAfter a decade rich in giant exoplanet detections, observation techniques have now reached the sensitivity to gain information on the physical structure and chemical content of some of the detected planets and also to find planets of less than 10 M⊕. The detection and characterization of Earth-like planets is approaching rapidly and dedicated space observatories are already in operation (CoRoT) or in the development phase (Kepler, Darwin and TPF-I/C). In this paper, we explore the domain of terrestrial planets, emphasizing habitable worlds. We discuss the possibility of performing a spectral characterization of their properties using the next generation of astronomical instruments.
97.82.Fs Substellar companions; planets
95.45.+i Observatories and site testing
97.82.Cp Photometric and spectroscopic detection; coronographic detection; interferometric detection
Issue T130 (August 2008)
Received 11 November 2007, accepted for publication 14 March 2008
Published 16 July 2008
Franck Selsis et al 2008 Phys. Scr. 2008 014032
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