Abstract

The study of exoplanet atmospheres has developed rapidly over the last few years, we are now reaching a point where enough hot jupiter atmospheres have been studied in detail that we can begin to perform comparative planetology to figure out the underlying processes.

WASP -52b is a low density Hot jupiter with a particularly high transmission signal that makes it an excellent target for transmission spectroscopy. Using ACAM on the WHT we recovered a transmission spectrum between 400 and 900 nm on two separate nights. A Gaussian Process method was used to remove common mode systematics. Despite having a similar radiation environment to HD 189733b, WASP -52b presents a very different transmission spectrum, hinting at the complexity and variety of planetary atmospheres.

Secondly, I will show that high resolution spectroscopy present an opportunity to spatially resolve the atmospheres of exoplanets. I will present evidence that the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HD 189733b has a strong eastward motion, with red-shifted absorption detected on the leading limb of the planet and blue-shifted absorption on the trailing limb. The results are based on a time-resolved model of the sodium transmission spectrum measured with the HARPS spectrograph. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of studying the weather patterns of distant planets from the ground.