New Telescope Technique Expands Exoplanet Atmosphere Spectroscopic Studies

McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Fort Davis, Texas © Kirk-chronicles-stock.adobe.com

A New Approach to Exoplanet Spectroscopy

Exoplanet atmospheres hold crucial clues about their formation, composition, and potential habitability. Transmission spectroscopy—measuring the variations in a planet's transit depth across different wavelengths—has been a key method in this field. Traditionally, space telescopes such as Hubble and JWST have been the gold standard for these measurements, but their time is expensive and limited (1-3).

The ETSI instrument, deployed on the 2.1-meter Otto Struve telescope at McDonald Observatory, employs a novel method called common-path multiband imaging (CMI). This technique enhances the precision of ground-based spectroscopic observations, allowing for reliable atmospheric analysis without the need for large, costly space-based observatories. ETSI achieves photometric color precision of 300 parts per million (ppm), comparable to space-based instruments, according to the research team (1).

Expanding the Exoplanetary Database

Led by Ryan J. Oelkers and colleagues from Texas A&M University, the study marks a major expansion of atmospheric studies, increasing the number of planets with transmission spectroscopy measurements by approximately 10%. The team observed 21 exoplanets and found that the atmospheric spectra obtained with ETSI closely match those from other observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope. This validation suggests that ETSI can provide reliable reconnaissance observations, allowing scientists to prioritize targets for future high-precision studies (1).

“Our results show that ETSI can identify key atmospheric features at a fraction of the cost and observational time required by space telescopes,” the authors noted (1). “This is a game-changer for planning future exoplanet studies.”

Detecting Key Atmospheric Features

The ETSI instrument employs an innovative optical design that splits incoming light into multiple spectrophotometric bandpass regions. This enables astronomers to measure specific atmospheric components, including sodium (Na), potassium (K), titanium oxide (TiO), methane (CH₄), and water (H₂O). Notably, 15 out of the 21 observed exoplanets exhibited spectral signatures indicative of clear, non-cloudy atmospheres, providing valuable insights into their composition and thermal structures (1).

Additionally, the study identified possible correlations between the strength of titanium oxide absorption and the host star's metallicity, as well as a relationship between potassium absorption and planetary mass. These findings suggest new avenues for understanding how planetary atmospheres evolve in different stellar environments (1).

The Future of Ground-Based Exoplanet Studies

As space telescopes like JWST and the upcoming Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (ARIEL) face increasing demand, ground-based facilities equipped with advanced instruments like ETSI will play an essential role in exoplanetary science. By providing preliminary data, ETSI helps refine target selection for expensive follow-up observations, ensuring that limited space telescope resources are used most effectively (1).

The full dataset from ETSI’s observations is now available through the Filtergraph visualization portal, allowing the broader scientific community to explore and analyze these groundbreaking results. The team has also made their data reduction pipeline publicly accessible, supporting continued advancements in ground-based exoplanet spectroscopy (1).

“Our goal is to make reconnaissance exoplanet spectroscopy more accessible and efficient,” the authors noted (1). “With ETSI, we can significantly enhance our ability to characterize alien worlds from the ground.”

With this breakthrough, ETSI sets the stage for a new era of exoplanet research, bridging the gap between ground-based reconnaissance and high-precision space-based observations, and paving the way for future discoveries in planetary science.

References

(1) Oelkers, R. J.; Schmidt, L. M.; Cook, E.; Limbach, M. A.; DePoy, D. L.; Marshall, J. L.; Ardoin, J.; Barry, M.; Batteas, E.; Boone, A.; Conway, B. Ground-Based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager. Astron. J. 2025, 169 (3), 134. DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ada557

(2) Kaltenegger, L.; MacDonald, R. J.; Kozakis, T.; Lewis, N. K.; Mamajek, E. E.; McDowell, J. C.; Vanderburg, A. The White Dwarf Opportunity: Robust Detections of Molecules in Earth-Like Exoplanet Atmospheres with the James Webb Space Telescope. Astrophys. J. Lett. 2020, 901 (1), L1. DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aba9d3

(3) Gialluca, M. T.; Robinson, T. D.; Rugheimer, S.; Wunderlich, F. Characterizing Atmospheres of Transiting Earth-Like Exoplanets Orbiting M Dwarfs with James Webb Space Telescope. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 2021, 133 (1023), 054401. DOI: 10.1088/1538-3873/abf367