What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to determine if nightside emission can be detected from the warm super-Neptune HAT-P-26 b by using the planetary infrared excess technique.

January 25, 2026Open Access

Non-detection of Nightside Emission from HAT-P-26b due to Stellar Contamination

Key Points

The aim is to determine if nightside emission can be detected from the warm super-Neptune HAT-P-26 b by using the planetary infrared excess technique.
Utilized in-eclipse spectrum removal method for nightside emission extraction
Conducted observations of HAT-P-26 b during transit and eclipse
Analyzed spectra to assess the presence of infrared excess
Failed to detect a reliable nightside spectrum for HAT-P-26 b
Results suggest contamination from small stellar variations
Highlights need for synchronized transit and eclipse observations for accurate PIE analysis

Abstract

We report a non-detection of nightside emission from the warm super-Neptune HAT-P-26 b. Following a similar approach to that presented by J. Lustig-Yaeger et al. for WASP-17 b, we attempted to extract the nightside emission spectrum using the in-eclipse spectrum removal method to detect planetary infrared excess (PIE). However, our methods did not yield a reliable nightside spectrum for HAT-P-26 b, and instead the results appear consistent with contamination due to small changes in the star between transit and eclipse visits. This null result helps to illuminate astrophysical challenges that complicate applications of the PIE technique and highlight the need for close-in-time transit and eclipse observations for this analysis method.

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Cite This Study

Sotzen et al. (Mon,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6975b2c8feba4585c2d6e4ec https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13016/m2revn-dsxr

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