Observing outer Solar System planetary atmospheres with Herschel, ALMA and JUICE/SWI - Results and challenges

Séminaire IPAG de Thibault Cavalie (Bordeaux Obs.), jeudi 23 janvier 2014 à 11h00, IPAG seminar room

As of today, more than 1000 exoplanets have been discovered. The variety of the systems unveiled raises the question of their formation. Because giant planets form faster than terrestrial planets and shape planetary systems, the study of their formation and evolution is of prime interest. The Solar System is our only local laboratory. It is therefore crucial to study in depth how the Solar System formed and works to better understand extrasolar systems Measuring the internal composition of giant planet is the key to constrain their formation scenario, but our instruments only allow us to characterize the outermost layers of these planets, i.e. their atmospheres. Their study can nonetheless provide key insights on their internal composition. But because their composition is not only the result of their formation but also of photochemistry, dynamics, seasons, and interactions with their environment (rings/satellites, comets, dust), determining and modeling their composition in 3D and as a function of time is essential to constrain their formation and evolution. Millimeter and submillimeter spectroscopy enables probing the composition of giant planets atmospheres. Over the last few years, technical progress in instrumentation has enabled obtaining new information relative to giant planets formation and evolution. In this talk, I will present recent results obtained with (sub-)millimeter telescopes, with an emphasis on results of the Herschel key program "Water and related chemistry in the Solar System". I will also introduce some challenges observers will have to face with ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) and the JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) Submillimetre Wave Instrument to improve our knowledge of giant planets.