Stellar occultations have proven to be a powerful technique for studying solar system objects, enabling discoveries such as tenuous atmospheres and ring systems, which are well-documented in the literature. In this talk, I will introduce this simple yet highly effective method and present recent findings on the atmospheres of Pluto and Triton, based on observations from DOT and HCT.
Beyond our solar system, over 5,000 exoplanets have been detected, exhibiting remarkable diversity in their physical properties. While the focus has long been on detection, the next frontier is the characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres. In the latter part of my talk, I will provide a brief overview of ExoWorlds, a proposed mission dedicated to probing exoplanetary atmospheres through transit spectroscopy.
Prof. Anandmayee Tej is a Senior Professor at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). Prof. Tej holds a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, with her thesis focusing on Lunar Occultation studies in the Near-Infrared. Previously, she has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at PRL, a Visiting Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, USA, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg in France, and a Visiting Fellow at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai. Prof. Tej's research expertise spans high angular resolution astronomy, studies of AGB stars and Mira variables, high-mass star formation, and stellar population studies.