Joseph Harrington

Joseph Harrington

Pegasus Professor

Department of Physics

PSB 441 / PSB 355 (lab)

321-696-9914

jh@physics.ucf.edu

Research Groups

Biography
Research
Publications

Dr. Harrington began observing and modeling giant planets as an undergraduate at MIT. His pre-impact model of the collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994, part of his MIT PhD thesis in planetary sciences, was published on the cover of Nature and sparked the worldwide media spree surrounding that event. Dr. Harrington then held a National Research Council Fellowship at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, during which he modeled the aftermath of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact and also identified the majority of planetary waves known on planets other than Earth. From 1997 – 2006, he worked as a staff scientist at Cornell University, where his interests shifted to observing extrasolar planets. He was part of the team that first measured light from an extrasolar planet, a result published in Nature in April 2005. He continues this work at UCF, leading the Spitzer Exoplanet Target of Opportunity Program, which measured eclipses and transits of new exoplanets with the Spitzer Space Telescope. He won the 2011 College of Sciences Excellence in Research Award for this work. He has won several UCF Research Incentive Awards and was named a UCF Pegasus Professor in 2020. He was Chair of UCF’s Faculty Senate and a member of the UCF Board of Trustees from 2020-2022. A co-founder of the Planetary Sciences Track in the UCF Physics PhD program, he developed AST 5165 Planetary Atmospheres, AST 5765/4762 (Advanced) Astronomical Data Analysis, and PHZ 3150 Introduction to Numerical Computing. He teaches a version of AST 2002 Astronomy that uses a video game to teach rather than traditional textbook and lecturing.

Measuring the temperatures and chemical compositions of exoplanetary atmospheres
Astronomical data analysis methodology
Infrared observing techniques
Reproducible Research as a research methodology
Open-Source Software and Open Science

Authors Title Published Date Journal
Powell, Diana; Feinstein, Adina D.; Lee, Elspeth K. H.; and 70 coauthors Sulfur dioxide in the mid-infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-39b Feb 2024 Nature 626, 979
Esparza-Borges, Emma; López-Morales, Mercedes; Adams Redai, Jéa I.; and 30 coauthors Detection of Carbon Monoxide in the Atmosphere of WASP-39b Applying Standard Cross-correlation Techniques to JWST NIRSpec G395H Data Sep 2023 The Astrophysical Journal 955, L19
Himes, Michael D.; Harrington, Joseph; Baydin, Atılım Güneş Toward 3D Retrieval of Exoplanet Atmospheres: Assessing Thermochemical Equilibrium Estimation Methods Apr 2023 The Planetary Science Journal 4, 74
Rustamkulov, Z.; Sing, D. K.; Mukherjee, S.; and 91 coauthors Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec PRISM Feb 2023 Nature 614, 659
Himes, Michael D.; Harrington, Joseph On the Dayside Atmosphere of WASP-12b Jun 2022 The Astrophysical Journal 931, 86
Himes, Michael D.; Harrington, Joseph; Cobb, Adam D.; and 8 coauthors Accurate Machine-learning Atmospheric Retrieval via a Neural-network Surrogate Model for Radiative Transfer Apr 2022 The Planetary Science Journal 3, 91
Challener, Ryan C.; Harrington, Joseph; Cubillos, Patricio E.; and 2 coauthors Spitzer Dayside Emission of WASP-34b Apr 2022 The Planetary Science Journal 3, 86
Blecic, Jasmina; Harrington, Joseph; Cubillos, Patricio E.; and 12 coauthors An Open-source Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) Code. III. Initialization, Atmospheric Profile Generator, Post-processing Routines Apr 2022 The Planetary Science Journal 3, 82
Cubillos, Patricio E.; Harrington, Joseph; Blecic, Jasmina; and 9 coauthors An Open-source Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) Code. II. The TRANSIT Radiative Transfer Module and Retrieval of HAT-P-11b Apr 2022 The Planetary Science Journal 3, 81
Harrington, Joseph; Himes, Michael D.; Cubillos, Patricio E.; and 14 coauthors An Open-source Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) Code. I. Design, Tests, and Application to Exoplanet HD 189733b Apr 2022 The Planetary Science Journal 3, 80
Challener, Ryan C.; Harrington, Joseph; Jenkins, James; and 17 coauthors Identification and Mitigation of a Vibrational Telescope Systematic with Application to Spitzer Feb 2021 The Planetary Science Journal 2, 9
Karalidi, Theodora; Apai, Daniel; Harrington, Joseph; and 4 coauthors Bands of brothers: detecting banded structures in the atmospheres of Luhman 16A and B May 2020 HST Proposal , 16296
Bean, Jacob L.; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Batalha, Natalie M.; and 99 coauthors The Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program for JWST Nov 2018 Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 130, 114402
Antuñano, Arrate; Fletcher, Leigh N.; Orton, Glenn S.; and 6 coauthors Infrared Characterization of Jupiter’s Equatorial Disturbance Cycle Oct 2018 Geophysical Research Letters 45, 10,987
Hardy, Ryan A.; Harrington, Joseph; Hardin, Matthew R.; and 6 coauthors Secondary Eclipses of HAT-P-13b Feb 2017 The Astrophysical Journal 836, 143
Cubillos, Patricio; Harrington, Joseph; Loredo, Thomas J.; and 3 coauthors On Correlated-noise Analyses Applied to Exoplanet Light Curves Jan 2017 The Astronomical Journal 153, 3
Stevenson, Kevin B.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Bean, Jacob L.; and 49 coauthors Transiting Exoplanet Studies and Community Targets for JWST’s Early Release Science Program Sep 2016 Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 128, 094401
Blecic, Jasmina; Harrington, Joseph; Bowman, M. Oliver TEA: A Code Calculating Thermochemical Equilibrium Abundances Jul 2016 The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 225, 4
Stevenson, Kevin; Agol, Eric; Angerhausen, Daniel; and 45 coauthors A Preparatory Program to Identify the Single Best Transiting Exoplanet for JWST Early Release Science Jun 2016 HST Proposal , 14642
Cowan, N. B.; Greene, T.; Angerhausen, D.; and 13 coauthors Characterizing Transiting Planet Atmospheres through 2025 Mar 2015 Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 127, 311
Lust, Nate B.; Britt, Daniel; Harrington, Joseph; and 5 coauthors Least Asymmetry Centering Method and Comparisons Dec 2014 Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 126, 1092
Cubillos, Patricio; Harrington, Joseph; Madhusudhan, Nikku; and 4 coauthors A Spitzer Five-band Analysis of the Jupiter-sized Planet TrES-1 Dec 2014 The Astrophysical Journal 797, 42
Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bean, Jacob L.; Madhusudhan, Nikku; and 1 coauthor Deciphering the Atmospheric Composition of WASP-12b: A Comprehensive Analysis of its Dayside Emission Aug 2014 The Astrophysical Journal 791, 36
Rostron, John W.; Wheatley, Peter J.; Anderson, David R.; and 5 coauthors The thermal emission of the exoplanet WASP-3b Jul 2014 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 441, 3666
Blecic, Jasmina; Harrington, Joseph; Madhusudhan, Nikku; and 10 coauthors Spitzer Observations of the Thermal Emission from WASP-43b Feb 2014 The Astrophysical Journal 781, 116
Blecic, Jasmina; Harrington, Joseph; Madhusudhan, Nikku; and 10 coauthors Thermal Emission of WASP-14b Revealed with Three Spitzer Eclipses Dec 2013 The Astrophysical Journal 779, 5
Hueso, R.; Pérez-Hoyos, S.; Sánchez-Lavega, A.; and 21 coauthors Impact flux on Jupiter: From superbolides to large-scale collisions Dec 2013 Astronomy and Astrophysics 560, A55
Glauser, A. M.; van Boekel, R.; Krause, O.; and 30 coauthors Characterizing Exoplanets in the Visible and Infrared: a Spectrometer Concept for the EChO Space Mission Sep 2013 Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation 2, 1350004
Mahtani, D. P.; Maxted, P. F. L.; Anderson, D. R.; and 13 coauthors Warm Spitzer occultation photometry of WASP-26b at 3.6 and 4.5 μm Jun 2013 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 432, 693
Cubillos, Patricio; Harrington, Joseph; Madhusudhan, Nikku; and 6 coauthors WASP-8b: Characterization of a Cool and Eccentric Exoplanet with Spitzer May 2013 The Astrophysical Journal 768, 42
Anderson, D. R.; Smith, A. M. S.; Madhusudhan, N.; and 12 coauthors Thermal emission at 3.6-8 μm from WASP-19b: a hot Jupiter without a stratosphere orbiting an active star Apr 2013 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 430, 3422
Maxted, P. F. L.; Anderson, D. R.; Doyle, A. P.; and 7 coauthors Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 μm full-orbit light curves of WASP-18 Jan 2013 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 428, 2645
Smith, A. M. S.; Anderson, D. R.; Madhusudhan, N.; and 11 coauthors Thermal emission from WASP-24b at 3.6 and 4.5 μm Sep 2012 Astronomy and Astrophysics 545, A93
Stevenson, Kevin B.; Harrington, Joseph; Lust, Nate B.; and 8 coauthors Two nearby Sub-Earth-sized Exoplanet Candidates in the GJ 436 System Aug 2012 The Astrophysical Journal 755, 9
Stevenson, Kevin B.; Harrington, Joseph; Fortney, Jonathan J.; and 7 coauthors Transit and Eclipse Analyses of the Exoplanet HD 149026b Using BLISS Mapping Aug 2012 The Astrophysical Journal 754, 136
Deming, Drake; Fraine, Jonathan D.; Sada, Pedro V.; and 7 coauthors Infrared Eclipses of the Strongly Irradiated Planet WASP-33b, and Oscillations of Its Host Star Aug 2012 The Astrophysical Journal 754, 106
Pond, Jarrad W. T.; Palotai, Csaba; Gabriel, Travis; and 3 coauthors Numerical Modeling of the 2009 Impact Event on Jupiter Feb 2012 The Astrophysical Journal 745, 113
Nymeyer, Sarah; Harrington, Joseph; Hardy, Ryan A.; and 16 coauthors Spitzer Secondary Eclipses of WASP-18b Nov 2011 The Astrophysical Journal 742, 35
Anderson, D. R.; Smith, A. M. S.; Lanotte, A. A.; and 10 coauthors Thermal emission at 4.5 and 8 μm of WASP-17b, an extremely large planet in a slightly eccentric orbit Sep 2011 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 416, 2108
Demory, B. -O.; Gillon, M.; Deming, D.; and 12 coauthors Detection of a transit of the super-Earth 55 Cancri e with warm Spitzer Sep 2011 Astronomy and Astrophysics 533, A114
Harrington, Joseph Transiting exoplanets, by C. Haswell May 2011 Meteoritics and Planetary Science 46, 767
Palotai, Csaba; Korycansky, Donald G.; Harrington, Joseph; and 2 coauthors Plume Development of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet Impact Apr 2011 The Astrophysical Journal 731, 3
Campo, Christopher J.; Harrington, Joseph; Hardy, Ryan A.; and 17 coauthors On the Orbit of Exoplanet WASP-12b Feb 2011 The Astrophysical Journal 727, 125
Madhusudhan, Nikku; Harrington, Joseph; Stevenson, Kevin B.; and 16 coauthors A high C/O ratio and weak thermal inversion in the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-12b Jan 2011 Nature 469, 64
Cubillos, P.; Harrington, J.; Madhusudhan, N.; and 4 coauthors Characterizing the atmosphere of exoplanets with Spitzer secondary eclipse observations Jan 2011 Boletin de la Asociacion Argentina de Astronomia La Plata Argentina 54, 53
Crossfield, Ian J. M.; Hansen, Brad M. S.; Harrington, Joseph; and 4 coauthors A New 24 μm Phase Curve for υ Andromedae b Nov 2010 The Astrophysical Journal 723, 1436
Harrington, Joseph; French, Richard G.; Matcheva, Katia The 1998 November 14 Occultation of GSC 0622-00345 by Saturn. II. Stratospheric Thermal Profile, Power Spectrum, and Gravity Waves Jun 2010 The Astrophysical Journal 716, 404
Harrington, Joseph; French, Richard G. The 1998 November 14 Occultation of GSC 0622-00345 by Saturn. I. Techniques for Ground-based Stellar Occultations Jun 2010 The Astrophysical Journal 716, 398
Stevenson, Kevin B.; Harrington, Joseph; Nymeyer, Sarah; and 7 coauthors Possible thermochemical disequilibrium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet GJ 436b Apr 2010 Nature 464, 1161
O’Donovan, Francis T.; Charbonneau, David; Harrington, Joseph; and 4 coauthors Detection of Planetary Emission from the Exoplanet Tres-2 Using Spitzer/IRAC Feb 2010 The Astrophysical Journal 710, 1551
Gillon, M.; Lanotte, A. A.; Barman, T.; and 16 coauthors The thermal emission of the young and massive planet CoRoT-2b at 4.5 and 8 μm Feb 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics 511, A3
Todorov, Kamen; Deming, Drake; Harrington, Jospeph; and 5 coauthors Spitzer IRAC Secondary Eclipse Photometry of the Transiting Extrasolar Planet HAT-P-1b Jan 2010 The Astrophysical Journal 708, 498
Deming, Drake; Harrington, Joseph; Laughlin, Gregory; and 4 coauthors Spitzer Transit and Secondary Eclipse Photometry of GJ 436b Oct 2007 The Astrophysical Journal 667, L199
Harrington, Joseph; Luszcz, Statia; Seager, Sara; and 2 coauthors The hottest planet Jun 2007 Nature 447, 691
Deming, Drake; Richardson, L. Jeremy; Harrington, Joseph 3.8-μm photometry during the secondary eclipse of the extrasolar planet HD209458b Jun 2007 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 378, 148
Richardson, L. Jeremy; Deming, Drake; Horning, Karen; and 2 coauthors A spectrum of an extrasolar planet Feb 2007 Nature 445, 892
Harrington, Joseph; Hansen, Brad M.; Luszcz, Statia H.; and 5 coauthors The Phase-Dependent Infrared Brightness of the Extrasolar Planet υ Andromedae b Oct 2006 Science 314, 623
Richardson, L. Jeremy; Harrington, Joseph; Seager, Sara; and 1 coauthor A Spitzer Infrared Radius for the Transiting Extrasolar Planet HD 209458b Oct 2006 The Astrophysical Journal 649, 1043
Rojo, Patricio M.; Harrington, Joseph A Method to Remove Fringes from Images Using Wavelets Sep 2006 The Astrophysical Journal 649, 553
Korycansky, D. G.; Harrington, Joseph; Deming, Drake; and 1 coauthor Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impact Modeling. I. High-Resolution Three-dimensional Bolides Jul 2006 The Astrophysical Journal 646, 642
Deming, Drake; Harrington, Joseph; Seager, Sara; and 1 coauthor Strong Infrared Emission from the Extrasolar Planet HD 189733b Jun 2006 The Astrophysical Journal 644, 560
Deming, Drake; Brown, Timothy M.; Charbonneau, David; and 2 coauthors A New Search for Carbon Monoxide Absorption in the Transmission Spectrum of the Extrasolar Planet HD 209458b Apr 2005 The Astrophysical Journal 622, 1149
Deming, Drake; Seager, Sara; Richardson, L. Jeremy; and 1 coauthor Infrared radiation from an extrasolar planet Mar 2005 Nature 434, 740
Deming, Drake; Charbonneau, David; Harrington, Joseph Spectroscopy of Molecular Hydrogen Emission from KH 15D Jan 2004 The Astrophysical Journal 601, L87
Richardson, L. Jeremy; Deming, Drake; Wiedemann, Guenter; and 4 coauthors Infrared Observations during the Secondary Eclipse of HD 209458b. I. 3.6 Micron Occultation Spectroscopy Using the Very Large Telescope Feb 2003 The Astrophysical Journal 584, 1053
Deming, Drake; Harrington, Joseph Erratum: “Models of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts. II. Radiative-Hydrodynamic Modeling of the Plume Splashback” (ApJ, 561, 468 [2001]) Feb 2002 The Astrophysical Journal 566, 618
Harrington, Joseph; Deming, Drake Erratum: “Models of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts. I. Ballistic Monte Carlo Plume” (ApJ, 561, 455 [2001]) Feb 2002 The Astrophysical Journal 566, 617
Deming, Drake; Harrington, Joseph Models of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts. II. Radiative-Hydrodynamic Modeling of the Plume Splashback Nov 2001 The Astrophysical Journal 561, 468
Harrington, Joseph; Deming, Drake Models of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impacts. I. Ballistic Monte Carlo Plume Nov 2001 The Astrophysical Journal 561, 455
Giovanelli, Riccardo; Darling, Jeremy; Sarazin, Marc; and 13 coauthors The Optical/Infrared Astronomical Quality of High Atacama Sites. I. Preliminary Results of Optical Seeing Jul 2001 Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 113, 789
Nicholson, Philip D.; French, Richard G.; Tollestrup, Eric; and 5 coauthors Saturn’s Rings I. Optical Depth Profiles from the 28 Sgr Occultation Jun 2000 Icarus 145, 474
Dowling, T. E.; Fischer, A. S.; Gierasch, P. J.; and 3 coauthors The Explicit Planetary Isentropic-Coordinate (EPIC) Atmospheric Model Apr 1998 Icarus 132, 221
Hubbard, W. B.; Porco, C. C.; Hunten, D. M.; and 25 coauthors Structure of Saturn’s Mesosphere from the 28 SGR Occultations Dec 1997 Icarus 130, 404
Harrington, Joseph; Dowling, Timothy E.; Baron, Richard L. Jupiter’s Tropospheric Thermal Emission. II. Power Spectrum Analysis and Wave Search Nov 1996 Icarus 124, 32
Harrington, Joseph; Dowling, Timothy E.; Baron, Richard L. Jupiter’s Tropospheric Thermal Emission. I. Observations and Techniques Nov 1996 Icarus 124, 22
Baron, R. L.; Owen, T.; Connerney, J. E. P.; and 2 coauthors Solar Wind Control of Jupiter’s H +3Auroras Apr 1996 Icarus 120, 437
Hammel, H. B.; Beebe, R. F.; Ingersoll, A. P.; and 14 coauthors HST Imaging of Atmospheric Phenomena Created by the Impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Mar 1995 Science 267, 1288
Orton, G.; A’Hearn, M.; Baines, K.; and 55 coauthors Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter Observed by the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Mar 1995 Science 267, 1277
Harrington, Joseph Planetary Infrared Observations: The Occultation of 28 Sagittarii by Saturn and the Dynamics of Jupiter’s Atmosphere. Jan 1995 Ph.D. Thesis ,
Harrington, Joseph; Lebeau, Raymond P.; Backes, Kari A.; and 1 coauthor Dynamic response of Jupiter’s atmosphere to the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 May 1994 Nature 369, 78
Harrington, Joseph; Lebeau, Raymond P.; Backes, Kari A.; and 1 coauthor Dynamic response of Jupiter’s atmosphere to the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Apr 1994 Nature 368, 525
Harrington, J.; Cooke, M. L.; Forrest, W. J.; and 3 coauthors IRTF Observations of the Occultation of 28 Sgr by Saturn Jun 1993 Icarus 103, 235
French, Richard G.; Nicholson, Philip D.; Cooke, Maren L.; and 15 coauthors Geometry of the Saturn System from the 3 July 1989 Occultation of 28 Sgr and Voyager Observations Jun 1993 Icarus 103, 163
Hammel, H. B.; Lawson, S. L.; Harrington, J.; and 3 coauthors An atmospheric outburst on Neptune from 1986 through 1989 Oct 1992 Icarus 99, 363