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Published Online October 12, 2006
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1133904

Reports

Submitted on August 15, 2006
Accepted on September 18, 2006

The Phase-Dependent Infrared Brightness of the Extrasolar Planet {upsilon} Andromeda b

Joseph Harrington 1, Brad M. Hansen 2*, Statia H. Luszcz 3, Sara Seager 4, Drake Deming 5, Kristen Menou 6, James Y-K. Cho 7, L. Jeremy Richardson 8

1 Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA; Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
2 Department of Physics and Astronomy and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
3 Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
4 Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington DC 20015, USA.
5 Planetary Systems Laboratory and Goddard Center for Astrobiology, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
6 Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
7 Astronomy Unit, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.
8 Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Brad M. Hansen , E-mail: hansen{at}astro.ucla.edu

The star {upsilon} Andromeda is orbited by three known planets (1), the innermost of which has an orbital period of 4.617 days and a mass at least 0.69 that of Jupiter. This planet is close enough to its host star that the radiation it absorbs overwhelms its internal heat losses. Here we present the 24-µm light curve of this system, obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. It shows a clear variation in phase with the orbital motion of the innermost planet. This is the first demonstration that such planets possess distinct hot substellar (day) and cold antistellar (night) faces.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Atmospheric dynamics of tidally synchronized extrasolar planets.
J. Y.-K Cho (2008)
Phil Trans R Soc A 366, 4477-4488
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)