APEX returns this Friday with Martha Mak: Simulating Hazy Exoplanets

We are delighted to resume our APEX seminar series this term with a talk from Martha (Mei Ting) Mak, a PhD Researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter. This will be a hybrid event, held at UCL and online.

half globe of icy moon Enceladus, criss-crossed with aqua blue lines and cracks, with a few scattered small craters, on a starry backdrop with the logos for the Centre for Planetary Sciences and the APEX seminar series shown in the left and right corners

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APEX returns this Friday with Martha Mak: Simulating Hazy Exoplanets

31 Jan 2025, 13:00 – 14:00

G22 LT
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom

Our Astrobiology and Planetary Exploration (APEX) seminar series returns this Friday 31st January at 13:00 GMT, featuring the following talk:

Martha (Mei Ting) Mak (Exeter) - Simulating Hazy Exoplanets: from Earth-like to Hot-Jupiter

An abstract for Martha’s talk can be found below.

Please note the day and location for APEX this term: Fridays at lunchtime, 1-2 pm GMT, in the G22 Lecture Theatre on the ground floor of the UCL North West Wing building.

A hybrid (in-person and online) format will continue this term but, of course, we warmly encourage in-person attendance to support our visiting speakers.

Details of the forthcoming APEX programme can be found at the link below. The latest information will be advertised in advance of each meeting. If you are not on our regular mailing lists and are interested in attending these seminars, please contact joanna.fabbri AT ucl.ac.uk.

Talk abstract

Simulating Hazy Exoplanets: from Earth-like to Hot-Jupiter - Martha (Mei Ting) Mak (Exeter):

Hazes, solid-state photochemical product, are expected to be present from the early Earth to exoplanets. However, our limited knowledge of haze and the lack of studies are presenting a significant barrier in our understanding of its impact on the atmospheric dynamics, as well as interpreting observations. In this talk, I will present results from 3D simulations of photochemical haze in the atmosphere of the Early Earth, TRAPPIST-1e and WASP-39b using the 3D general circulation model - the Met Office Unified Model. For rocky planets, we found global warming and cooling when the haze layer is thin and thick, respectively. The results have implications on habitability in other planets. For hot-Jupiter, hazes accumulate in the planet’s nightside vortices, resulting in observational asymmetries over the morning and evening terminators. Our results also suggest that the potential haze present in the atmosphere of WASP-39b is likely to have a weaker absorption strength than soot-like haze, contradicting the haze type commonly used by the community. These studies show the importance of understanding the impact of haze to better investigate the atmospheric dynamics and observational data of any planet.

APEX Seminars

The Astrobiology and Planetary Exploration (APEX) seminar series takes place this term on Friday lunchtimes, from 1-2pm, in the G22 Lecture Theatre of UCL’s North West Wing building in the Bloomsbury Campus. As in previous years, we will operate a hybrid (online and in-person) model for both speakers and attendees. Details of the forthcoming APEX programme can be found via the link below.