M Dwarf Starspots & Transiting Exoplanets

The discovery and characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is mired in the challenge of disentangling planetary characteristics from the complex signatures of stellar activity. For stars cooler than the Sun, spots on their surface can be cool enough that molecular absorption appears in the stellar spectrum and can be mistaken for absorption in a planetary atmosphere. Will’s research addresses this with a combination of space- and ground-based observations of M dwarfs with transiting planets, focusing on modeling the stellar photosphere alongside the transit. In this talk, Will discusses the challenges of understanding planets transiting spotted stars, and the role that multi-color photometry plays in characterizing starspots.