Heather A. Knutson mapped the thermal emission of the exoplanet HD 189733 b from its changing infrared brightness over part of an orbit. Different viewing phases expose different fractions of the hot dayside and cooler nightside.
The measured phase dependence constrained the longitudinal brightness distribution rather than producing a spatially resolved photograph. The relatively modest day–night contrast implied efficient redistribution of absorbed stellar energy, while the displaced brightness maximum supplied evidence about atmospheric transport. Inferred brightness temperatures apply to the observing band and adopted emission model.[ref]
Heather A. Knutson studying exoplanets at Caltech
. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory image, 2018; the Wikimedia Commons record identifies the subject and NASA public-domain origin. Source.
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