Journal
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Volume 475, Issue 3, Pages 1125-1129Publisher
EDP SCIENCES S A
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20078354
Keywords
techniques : photometric; techniques : spectroscopic; eclipses; stars : individual : GJ 436; planetary systems; infrared : general
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We present Spitzer Space Telescope infrared photometry of a secondary eclipse of the hot Neptune GJ 436 b. The observations were obtained using the 8-mu m band of the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC). The data spanning the predicted time of secondary eclipse show a clear flux decrement with the expected shape and duration. The observed eclipse depth of 0.58 mmag allows us to estimate a blackbody brightness temperature of T-p = 717 +/- 35 K at 8 mu m. We compare this infrared flux measurement to a model of the planetary thermal emission, and show that this model reproduces properly the observed flux decrement. The timing of the secondary eclipse confirms the non-zero orbital eccentricity of the planet, while also increasing its precision (e = 0.14 +/- 0.01). Additional new spectroscopic and photometric observations allow us to estimate the rotational period of the star and to assess the potential presence of another planet.
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