The Climates of Other Worlds: A Review of the Emerging Field of Exoplanet Climatology. (arXiv:1909.04046v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Shields_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Aomawa L. Shields</a>
The discovery of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has accelerated
over the past decade, and this trend will continue as new space- and
ground-based observatories employ next-generation instrumentation to search the
skies for habitable worlds. However, many factors and processes can affect
planetary habitability and must be understood to accurately determine a
planet’s habitability potential. While climate models have long been used to
understand and predict climate and weather patterns on the Earth, a growing
community of researchers has begun to apply these models to extrasolar planets.
This work has provided a better understanding of how orbital, surface, and
atmospheric properties affect planetary climate and habitability; how these
climatic effects might change for different stellar and planetary environments;
and how the habitability and observational signatures of newly discovered
planets might be influenced by these climatic factors. This review summarizes
the origins and evolution of the burgeoning field of exoplanet climatology,
discusses recent work using a hierarchy of computer models to identify those
planets most capable of supporting life, and offers a glimpse into future
directions of this quickly evolving subfield of exoplanet science.
The discovery of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has accelerated
over the past decade, and this trend will continue as new space- and
ground-based observatories employ next-generation instrumentation to search the
skies for habitable worlds. However, many factors and processes can affect
planetary habitability and must be understood to accurately determine a
planet’s habitability potential. While climate models have long been used to
understand and predict climate and weather patterns on the Earth, a growing
community of researchers has begun to apply these models to extrasolar planets.
This work has provided a better understanding of how orbital, surface, and
atmospheric properties affect planetary climate and habitability; how these
climatic effects might change for different stellar and planetary environments;
and how the habitability and observational signatures of newly discovered
planets might be influenced by these climatic factors. This review summarizes
the origins and evolution of the burgeoning field of exoplanet climatology,
discusses recent work using a hierarchy of computer models to identify those
planets most capable of supporting life, and offers a glimpse into future
directions of this quickly evolving subfield of exoplanet science.
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