L. Kaltenegger 2010 ApJ 712 L125 doi:10.1088/2041-8205/712/2/L125
L. Kaltenegger
Show affiliationsWe 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.
astrobiology; atmospheric effects; Earth; eclipses; occultations; techniques: spectroscopic
Issue 2 (2010 April 1)
Received 2009 December 10, accepted for publication 2010 February 11
Published 2010 March 9
L. Kaltenegger 2010 ApJ 712 L125
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