FINDING AND CHARACTERISING EXTRASOLAR PLANETS AT (THERMAL) INFRARED WAVELENGHTS

摘要

At a time where a program of space mission dedicated to the direct detection and spectral analysis of extrasolar planets is under development both at ESA and NASA the choice of the observation spectral window between the visible and the infrared spectral range is still not completely clear. In this paper, I review some of the most interesting capabilities the thermal infrared spectral range provides, particularly in terms of sensitivity of the detection, gaseous spectral features and environmental data.