Abstract
Roughly 40 billion M dwarfs in our galaxy host at least one small planet in the habitable zone (HZ). The stellar ultraviolet (UV) radiation from M dwarfs is strong and highly variable, and impacts planetary atmospheric loss, composition and habitability. These effects are amplified by the extreme proximity of their HZs (0.1-0.4 AU). Knowing the UV environments of M dwarf planets will be crucial to understanding their atmospheric composition and a key parameter in discriminating between biological and abiotic sources for observed biosignatures. The Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) will be a 6U CubeSat devoted to photometric monitoring of M stars in the far-UV and near-UV, measuring the time-dependent spectral slope, intensity and evolution of low-mass star high-energy radiation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018 |
Subtitle of host publication | Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray |
Editors | Shouleh Nikzad, Jan-Willem A. Den Herder, Kazuhiro Nakazawa |
Publisher | SPIE |
Volume | 10699 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781510619517 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2018 |
Event | Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray - Austin, United States Duration: Jun 10 2018 → Jun 15 2018 |
Other
Other | Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray |
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Country | United States |
City | Austin |
Period | 6/10/18 → 6/15/18 |
Keywords
- Cubesat
- Exoplanet
- Habitability
- Imaging
- Low Mass Stars
- Photometry
- Radiation Environment
- Ultraviolet
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Computer Science Applications
- Applied Mathematics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering