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Water in Extrasolar Planets and Implications for Habitability

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Abstract

Exoplanet detection missions have found thousands of planets or planet candidates outside of the Solar System—some of which are in the habitable zone, where liquid water is possible at the surface. We give an overview of the recent progress in observations of water-rich exoplanets, detection of water in the atmosphere of gas giants and less-massive targets, and modelling of the interior and evolution of water layers in exoplanets. We summarise the possible habitability of water-rich planets and discuss the potential of future missions and telescopes towards the detection of water in the atmosphere of low-mass exoplanets or on their surface.

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Acknowledgements

L. Noack has been funded by the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme initiated by the Belgian Science Policy Office through the Planet Topers alliance.

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  1. Lena Noack

    Present address: Free University Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium

    Lena Noack

  2. University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Ignas Snellen

  3. Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center, Berlin, Germany

    Heike Rauer

  4. Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Heike Rauer

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  1. Lena Noack
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  2. Ignas Snellen
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Correspondence to Lena Noack.

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The Delivery of Water to Protoplanets, Planets and Satellites

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Noack, L., Snellen, I. & Rauer, H. Water in Extrasolar Planets and Implications for Habitability. Space Sci Rev 212, 877–898 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0413-1

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