Miles, Emma (2022) Simulation of Venus-like candidate atmospheres to refine the future understanding of terrestrial exoplanet characterisation. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
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Text (Dissertation)
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Abstract
Astronomical research is strongly focused on the search for terrestrial exoplanets. One of the ways to determine if an exoplanet is terrestrial, is through the characterisation of its atmosphere. This project focuses on the characterisation of the atmospheres of exoplanets with similar astrophysical parameters to Venus, a terrestrial planet in our solar system, to guide the direction of the observations for the next generation of space-based observatories. the Python programs, PLATON and TauREx, are used to simulate and model the atmospheres of Venus-like candidates which were identified using the NASA Exoplanet Archive. Four exoplanets, TRAPPIST-1b, TRAPPIST-1c, GJ 9827c and Kepler 138c, are modelled and compared to the ancient Venus atmospheric model to establish any similarities and differences. Similarities were found between the molecular species present in the atmospheres of ancient Venus, TRAPPIST-1b, TRAPPIST-1c and Kepler 138c. However, the differences found with the atmosphere of GJ 9827c suggest that it is a gaseous exoplanet. Given the limitations of the simulations and models produced here, the hypothesis should be explored further. The simulated wavelengths determined in these models are likely to be detectable by the instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and other future space-based missions. The models are expected to refine the classification of terrestrial exoplanets, and expand our knowledge of planetary system evolution.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Sciences (6 Sep 2019 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Brown, Carolyn |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Jun 2023 01:23 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2023 01:23 |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 51 PHYSICAL SCIENCES > 5101 Astronomical sciences > 510109 Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/51765 |
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