On account of Boston’s impending snowstorm, tomorrow’s planetary colloquium is canceled.

Dr. Caroline Morley’s talk has been rescheduled for May 2nd.

Vast resources have been dedicated to characterizing the handful of planets with radii between Earth’s and Neptune’s that are accessible to current telescopes. Observations of their transmission spec- tra have been inconclusive and do not constrain the atmospheric composition. Of the small planets studied to date, all have radii in the near-IR consistent with being constant in wavelength, likely showing that these small planets are con- sistently enshrouded in thick hazes and clouds.

I will explore the types of clouds and hazes that can completely obscure transmission spectra. I will then show the effect that these thick clouds have on the thermal emission and reflected light spectra of small exoplanets. I present a path forward for understanding this class of small planets: by understanding the thermal emission and reflectivity of small planets, we can potentially break the degeneracies and better constrain the atmospheric compositions.

For more information, contact John Biersteker (jo22395@mit.edu)