Photometric light curves of close-in extrasolar giant planets

The close-in extrasolar giant planets (CEGPs) within 0.06 AU of their parent stars, are highly irradiated by their parent stars. Their atmospheric structures and emergent spectra are strongly affected by the intense irradiation. Treating the incoming radiation accurately is crucial; at effective temperatures of 1100 to 1500 K, they do not resemble isolated planets of the same effective temperature. Depending on the type and size of condensates in the CEGPs' atmospheres, the planets could have enough reflected light to be detectable in the optical. The upcoming satellites MOST and COROT will be able to detect micromagnitude variation in the visible. We present photometric light curves of 51 Peg b, computed by a 3D Monte Carlo scattering simulation that uses the phase function of three condensates and of Rayleigh scattering, and discuss whether they are detectable in the near future.