Exoplanet detection missions have found thousands of planets or planet candidates outside of the Solar System—some of which are in the habitable zone, where liquid water is possible at the surface.... Show moreExoplanet detection missions have found thousands of planets or planet candidates outside of the Solar System—some of which are in the habitable zone, where liquid water is possible at the surface. We give an overview of the recent progress in observations of water-rich exoplanets, detection of water in the atmosphere of gas giants and less-massive targets, and modelling of the interior and evolution of water layers in exoplanets. We summarise the possible habitability of water-rich planets and discuss the potential of future missions and telescopes towards the detection of water in the atmosphere of low-mass exoplanets or on their surface. Show less
Context. In recent years, day-side emission from about a dozen hot Jupiters has been detected through ground-based secondary eclipse observations in the near-infrared. These near-infrared... Show moreContext. In recent years, day-side emission from about a dozen hot Jupiters has been detected through ground-based secondary eclipse observations in the near-infrared. These near-infrared observations are vital for determining the energy budgets of hot Jupiters, since they probe the planet's spectral energy distribution near its peak. Aims: The aim of this work is to measure the K$_s$-band secondary eclipse depth of WASP-33b, the first planet discovered to transit an A-type star. This planet receives the highest level of irradiation of all transiting planets discovered to date. Furthermore, its host-star shows pulsations and is classified as a low-amplitude {$delta$} Scuti. Methods: As part of our GROUnd-based Secondary Eclipse (GROUSE) project we have obtained observations of two separate secondary eclipses of WASP-33b in the K$_s$-band using the LIRIS instrument on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). The telescope was significantly defocused to avoid saturation of the detector for this bright star (K ~{} 7.5). To increase the stability and the cadence of the observations, they were performed in staring mode. We collected a total of 5100 and 6900 frames for the first and the second night respectively, both with an average cadence of 3.3 s. Results: On the second night the eclipse is detected at the 12 -{$σ$} level, with a measured eclipse depth of 0.244$_{-0.020}$$^{+0.027}$%. This eclipse depth corresponds to a brightness temperature of 3270$_{-160}$$^{+115}$ K. The measured brightness temperature on the second night is consistent with the expected equilibrium temperature for a planet with a very low albedo and a rapid re-radiation of the absorbed stellar light. For the other night the short out-of-eclipse baseline prevents good corrections for the stellar pulsations and systematic effects, which makes this dataset unreliable for eclipse depth measurements. This demonstrates the need of getting a sufficient out-of-eclipse baseline. Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgLight curves are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/550/A54Show less
