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| Paper: |
Detecting and Characterizing Venus Analogs Orbiting Other Stars with the Habitable Worlds Observatory |
| Monograph: |
10, HWO25 Proceedings Part I: Community Science Case Development Documents |
| Page: |
529 |
| Authors: |
Stephen R. Kane; Emma L. Miles; Colby M. Ostberg; Noam R. Izenberg; Sarah Blunt; Jessie Christiansen; Tansu Daylan; Courtney Dressing; Luca Fossati; Antonio Garcia Munoz; Kenneth Goodis Gordon; Caleb Harada; Renyu Hu; Ludmila Carone; Eric Nielsen; Elisabeth Newton; Malena Rice; Sabina Sagynbayeva; Christopher; Peter Woitke |
| DOI: |
10.26624/XVEA5163 |
| Abstract: |
Understanding planetary habitability requires a comparative approach anchored to the divergent evolution-
ary outcomes of Earth and Venus. The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will be uniquely positioned
to conduct a statistical and physical census of terrestrial exoplanets spanning the Venus Zone (VZ) and the
Habitable Zone (HZ), enabling the detection and atmospheric characterization of post–runaway greenhouse
worlds (“exoVenuses”). We present a comprehensive science case and an observing strategy that integrates
precursor radial-velocity (RV), transit, and stellar characterization with HWO direct imaging, spectroscopy
across the UV/optical/IR, and spectropolarimetry. Our framework emphasizes diagnostics of sulfur chemistry
(SO2) and aerosol physics (H2SO4 clouds/hazes), the planetary redox state (O2/O3 false positives from hydrogen loss), and cloud microphysics (rainbow polarization). We quantify implications for HWO requirements,
including UV access to 0.2–0.4 µm, optical/NIR coverage to ≳1.5 µm, inner working angle (IWA) reaching
0.3–1.5 AU around nearby Sun-like stars, the SNR/resolution needed for key features, and outline a path to
robust demographic inferences and target triage. |
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