2022/09/12 by M. Mallonn, Mallonn, Matthias, C. von Essen +2
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) #FOS: Physical sciences #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2209.06680
openalex publication_date 2022/09/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The largest and most close-in exoplanets would reflect enough star light to enable its ground-based photometric detection under the condition of a high to moderate albedo. We present the results of an observing campaign of secondary eclipse light curves of three of the most suitable exoplanet targets, WASP-43b, WASP-103b, and TrES-3b. The observations were conducted with meter-sized telescopes in the blue optical broadband filters Johnson B and Johnson V. We do not detect a photometric dimming at the moment of the eclipse, and derive a best-fit eclipse depth by an injection-recovery test. These depth values are then used to infer low geometric albedos ranging from zero to 0.18 with an uncertainty of 0.12 or better in most cases. This work illustrates the potential of ground-based telescopes to provide wavelength-resolved reflection properties of selected exoplanets even at short optical wavelengths, which otherwise are only accessible by the Hubble Space Telescope.