Kepler-62f

Kepler-62f
Exoplanet List of exoplanets

An artist's impression of Kepler-62f (foreground) and Kepler-62e (right) orbiting the star Kepler-62 (center). The actual appearance of Kepler-62f is not known.
Parent star
Star Kepler-62 (KOI-701)
Constellation Lyra
Right ascension (α) 18h 52m 51.06019s
Declination (δ) +45° 20′ 59.507″
Apparent magnitude (mV) 13.654[1]
Distance~1200 ly
(~368[2] pc)
Mass (m) 0.69 (± 0.02)[2] M☉
Radius (r) 0.64 (± 0.02)[2] R☉
Temperature (T) 4925 (± 70)[2] K
Metallicity [Fe/H] -0.37 (± 0.04)[2]
Age 7 (± 4)[2] Gyr
Physical characteristics
Radius(r)1.41 (± 0.07)[2] R⊕
Stellar flux(F⊙)0.41 ± 0.05 ⊕
Temperature (T) 243 K (−30 °C; −22 °F)
Orbital elements
Semi-major axis(a) 0.718[2] AU
Eccentricity (e) ~0[2]
Orbital period(P) 267.291[2] d
Inclination (i) 89.90[2]°
Discovery information
Discovery date 18 April 2013[2]
Discoverer(s) Eric Agol[3]
Discovery method Transit (Kepler Mission)[2]
Other detection methods n/a
Discovery site Kepler Space Observatory
Discovery status Published refereed article
Other designations
KOI-701.04; K00701.04; KOI-701 f; 2MASS J18525105+4520595 f; KIC 9002278 f; WISE J185251.03+452059.0 f
Database references
Extrasolar Planets
Encyclopaedia		data
SIMBADdata
Exoplanet Archivedata
Open Exoplanet Cataloguedata

Kepler-62f[2][3][4] (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-701.04) is a super-Earth exoplanet (extrasolar planet) orbiting within the habitable zone of Kepler-62, the outermost of five such planets discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft. Kepler-62f is located about 1200 light-years (370 parsecs, or roughly 11,350,000,000,000,000 km) from Earth in the constellation of Lyra.[5] The exoplanet was found by using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. Kepler-62f may be a terrestrial or water-dominated solid planet; it lies within the outer part of its host star's habitable zone[2][6]

Confirmed exoplanet and host star

Kepler-62f is a super-Earth with a radius 1.4 times that of Earth.[2] The planet orbits a (K-type) star named Kepler-62 that is about a third smaller and cooler than the Sun. The star Kepler -62 is orbited by a total of five transiting planets, of which Kepler-62f has the longest orbital period.[2] The star would appear a slight peach color to the naked eye, and, as viewed from planet Kepler-62f, would have an angular size about 90% as large as the Sun seen from Earth.[2]

Habitability

Given the planet's age (7 ± 4 billion years), irradiance (0.41 ± 0.05 times Earth's) and radius (1.41 ± 0.07 times Earth's), a rocky (silicate-iron) composition with the addition of a possibly substantial amount of water is considered plausible.[2] A modeling study accepted in The Astrophysical Journal indicates it is likely that a great majority of planets in its size range are completely covered by ocean (possibly frozen, if Kepler-62f is indeed such a planet).[7][8] If its density is the same as Earth's, its mass would be 1.413 or 2.80 times Earth's. The planet has the potential for hosting a moon according to a study of tidal effects on potentially habitable planets.[9] The planet may be the only habitable-zone candidate which would avoid desiccation by irradiation from the host star at its current location.[10]

Cultural impact

On 9 May 2013, a congressional hearing by two U.S. House of Representatives subcommittees discussed "Exoplanet Discoveries: Have We Found Other Earths?," prompted by the discovery of exoplanet Kepler-62f, along with Kepler-62e and Kepler-69c. A related special issue of the journal Science, published earlier, described the discovery of the exoplanets.[11] Kepler-62f and the other Kepler-62 exoplanets are being specially targeted as part of the SETI search programs.[12]

Notable Exoplanets – Kepler Space Telescope
Confirmed small exoplanets in habitable zones.
(Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f, Kepler-186f, Kepler-296e, Kepler-296f, Kepler-438b, Kepler-440b, Kepler-442b)
(Kepler Space Telescope; 6 January 2015).[13]
Comparison of the sizes of planets Kepler-69c, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f, and the Earth.
(Exoplanets are artists' conceptions.)		 The Kepler Space Telescope search volume, in the context of the Milky Way Galaxy.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kepler Input Catalog search result". Space Telescope Science Institute. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Borucki, William J.; et al. (18 April 2013). "Kepler-62: A Five-Planet System with Planets of 1.4 and 1.6 Earth Radii in the Habitable Zone". Science Express 340: 587–590. arXiv:1304.7387. Bibcode:2013Sci...340..587B. doi:10.1126/science.1234702. PMID 23599262. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 Johnson, Michele; Harrington, J.D. (18 April 2013). "NASA's Kepler Discovers Its Smallest 'Habitable Zone' Planets to Date". NASA. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Overbye, Dennis (18 April 2013). "2 Good Places to Live, 1,200 Light-Years Away". New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Kepler-62f: A Possible Water World
  6. ↑ 3 Potentially Habitable 'Super-Earths' Explained (Infographic)
  7. ↑ "Water worlds surface: Planets covered by global ocean with no land in sight". Harvard Gazette. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Kaltenegger, L.; Sasselov, D.; Rugheimer, S. (18 April 2013). "Water Planets in the Habitable Zone: Atmospheric Chemistry, Observable Features, and the case of Kepler-62e and -62f". The Astrophysical Journal 775: L47. arXiv:1304.5058. Bibcode:2013ApJ...775L..47K. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/775/2/L47.
  9. ↑ Sasaki, Takashi; Barnes, Jason W. (30 June 2014). "Longevity of moons around habitable planets". International Journal of Astrobiology 13 (4): 324–336. Bibcode:2014IJAsB..13..324S. doi:10.1017/S1473550414000184.
  10. ↑ Luger, Rodrigo; Barnes, Rory. "Extreme Water Loss and Abiotic O2 Buildup On Planets Throughout the Habitable Zones of M Dwarfs". Astrobiology 15: 119–143. arXiv:1411.7412. Bibcode:2015AsBio..15..119L. doi:10.1089/ast.2014.1231.
  11. ↑ Staff (3 May 2013). "Special Issue: Exoplanets". Science. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Has Kepler Found Ideal SETI-target Planets?". SETI Institute. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  13. ↑ Clavin, Whitney; Chou, Felicia; Johnson, Michele (6 January 2015). "NASA's Kepler Marks 1,000th Exoplanet Discovery, Uncovers More Small Worlds in Habitable Zones". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kepler-62 f.

Coordinates: 18h 52m 51.06019s, +45° 20′ 59.507″

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