Over the past years it has been discovered that the population of extra-solar planets is large and diverse. This fact feeds expectations for finding habitable Earth-like planets and potentially... Show moreOver the past years it has been discovered that the population of extra-solar planets is large and diverse. This fact feeds expectations for finding habitable Earth-like planets and potentially extra-terrestrial life. However without a reliable characterization, the fundamental nature of these planets would remain unknown after their initial discovery. This thesis focuses on the development of new spectroscopic observation and analysis methods to characterize planets after their discovery. The techniques presented in this thesis can be used in the future to detect the signs of life and habitability on Earth-like exoplanets that are expected to be discovered over the coming years. Show less
