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Thermal emission measurements have been acquired for only a small number of warm Neptunes and super-Earths to date, in contrast to the large number of transmission spectroscopy studies of such worlds. This is despite the limited value of transmission spectroscopy for planets with substantial atmospheric aerosols or planets that lack atmospheres altogether thermal emission measurements are much more useful in such cases, and are anticipated to be a major growth area in the upcoming JWST era. We will report on initial results from a large-scale Spitzer program to acquire mid-infrared secondary eclipses of small TESS planets. These results include new secondary eclipse detections from rocky worlds, only the second thermal phase curve obtained for any warm Neptune, and eclipses and transits of additional targets. These exciting results provide the only thermal constraints on sub-Jovian planets until JWST launches, and our program is providing the first thermal characterizion of these touchstone planets that will be studied in great detail for many years to come.

Ian Crossfield: Global Infrared Characterization of Ultra-hot neptune LTT 9779b