1. Kepler-62: a five-planet system with planets of 1.4 and 1.6 Earth radii in the habitable zone.
- Author
-
Borucki WJ, Agol E, Fressin F, Kaltenegger L, Rowe J, Isaacson H, Fischer D, Batalha N, Lissauer JJ, Marcy GW, Fabrycky D, Désert JM, Bryson ST, Barclay T, Bastien F, Boss A, Brugamyer E, Buchhave LA, Burke C, Caldwell DA, Carter J, Charbonneau D, Crepp JR, Christensen-Dalsgaard J, Christiansen JL, Ciardi D, Cochran WD, DeVore E, Doyle L, Dupree AK, Endl M, Everett ME, Ford EB, Fortney J, Gautier TN 3rd, Geary JC, Gould A, Haas M, Henze C, Howard AW, Howell SB, Huber D, Jenkins JM, Kjeldsen H, Kolbl R, Kolodziejczak J, Latham DW, Lee BL, Lopez E, Mullally F, Orosz JA, Prsa A, Quintana EV, Sanchis-Ojeda R, Sasselov D, Seader S, Shporer A, Steffen JH, Still M, Tenenbaum P, Thompson SE, Torres G, Twicken JD, Welsh WF, and Winn JN
- Subjects
- Exobiology, Extraterrestrial Environment, Models, Theoretical, Stars, Celestial, Planets, Water
- Abstract
We present the detection of five planets--Kepler-62b, c, d, e, and f--of size 1.31, 0.54, 1.95, 1.61 and 1.41 Earth radii (R⊕), orbiting a K2V star at periods of 5.7, 12.4, 18.2, 122.4, and 267.3 days, respectively. The outermost planets, Kepler-62e and -62f, are super-Earth-size (1.25 R⊕ < planet radius ≤ 2.0 R⊕) planets in the habitable zone of their host star, respectively receiving 1.2 ± 0.2 times and 0.41 ± 0.05 times the solar flux at Earth's orbit. Theoretical models of Kepler-62e and -62f for a stellar age of ~7 billion years suggest that both planets could be solid, either with a rocky composition or composed of mostly solid water in their bulk.
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF