Seeing another Earth: Detecting and Characterizing Rocky Planets with Extremely Large Telescopes

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of extremely large ground-based telescopes to directly detect and study rocky exoplanets, including molten Earths and planets around nearby stars, in the thermal infrared spectrum.

Contribution

It presents new methods and feasibility analyses for detecting rocky planets with >20 m telescopes, focusing on thermal infrared observations.

Findings

Detection of molten Earths possible via impact signatures

Detection of nearby rocky planets feasible with large telescopes

Ground-based telescopes can complement space missions in exoplanet characterization

Abstract

The detection of lower mass planets now being reported via radial velocity and microlensing surveys suggests that they may be ubiquitous. If missions such as Kepler are able to confirm this, the detection and study of rocky planets via direct imaging with ground-based telescopes of apertures > 20 m is feasible in the thermal infrared. We discuss two cases for detecting rocky planets, the first via detection of molten Earths formed though an Earth-Moon like impact event, and the second via detection of planets around very nearby stars. These observations have the potential to give us a first look at a rocky planet similar to the Earth.