Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Cygnus |
Right ascension | 19h 24m 07.76597s [1] |
Declination | +49° 02′ 24.9283″ [1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.08 [2] |
Characteristics | |
Evolutionary stage | Main sequence |
Spectral type | G1V |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | −20.50±0.23 [1] km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: −7.305 mas/yr [1] Dec.: −10.454 mas/yr [1] |
Parallax (π) | 6.9298 ± 0.0100 mas [1] |
Distance | 470.7 ± 0.7 ly (144.3 ± 0.2 pc) |
Details [3] | |
Mass | 1.057+0.022 −0.020 M☉ |
Radius | 1.2564±0.0084 R☉ |
Temperature | 5847±75 K |
Metallicity [Fe/H] | 0.11±0.06 dex |
Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 2.4±0.5 [4] km/s |
Age | 6.84+0.90 −1.04 Gyr |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
KIC | data |
Kepler-68 is a Sun-like main sequence star located 471 light-years (144 parsecs ) away in the constellation Cygnus. It is known to have at least four planets orbiting around it. [3] The third planet has a mass similar to Jupiter but orbits within the habitable zone. [5]
High resolution imaging observations of Kepler-68 carried out with the lucky imaging instrument AstraLux on the 2.2m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory detected a wide companion candidate approximately 11 arcseconds away. Comparing these observations to the 2MASS positions shows that the companions proper motion is consistent with it being bound to the Kepler-68 system, but further observations are needed to confirm this conclusion. [6] Eleven arcseconds at the distance of Kepler-68 leads to a sky projected separation of approximately 1600 Astronomical units. A circular orbit at that distance would have a period of roughly 50,000 years. [7]
Currently, four planets have been discovered to orbit around Kepler-68. The two innermost planets were discovered by the planetary transit method. Follow-up Doppler measurements helped to determine the mass of Kepler-68b and helped to discover Kepler-68d. [5] [8] There is an additional signal present in the radial velocity measurements indicating another body in the system at a period of greater than 10 years. The mass of this object was initially unknown and it could be either another planet or a stellar companion. [7] In 2023, this fourth planet was confirmed, with a minimum mass about that of Saturn. [3]
Companion (in order from star) | Mass | Semimajor axis (AU) | Orbital period (days) | Eccentricity | Inclination | Radius |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
b | 8.03±0.67 M🜨 | 0.06135±0.00043 | 5.39875259 | <0.090 | 87.23+0.22 −0.17 ° | 2.357±0.023 R🜨 |
c | <1.3 M🜨 | 0.09008±0.00063 | 9.605027 | <0.099 | 87.071+0.087 −0.094 ° | 0.979±0.019 R🜨 |
d | ≥0.749±0.017 MJ | 1.469±0.010 | 632.62±1.03 | 0.102±0.016 | — | — |
e | ≥0.272±0.032 MJ | 4.60+0.32 −0.16 | 3455+348 −169 | 0.33±0.11 | — | — |
Epsilon Indi, Latinized from ε Indi, is a star system located at a distance of approximately 12 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Indus. The star has an orange hue and is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.83. It consists of a K-type main-sequence star, ε Indi A, and two brown dwarfs, ε Indi Ba and ε Indi Bb, in a wide orbit around it. The brown dwarfs were discovered in 2003. ε Indi Ba is an early T dwarf (T1) and ε Indi Bb a late T dwarf (T6) separated by 0.6 arcseconds, with a projected distance of 1460 AU from their primary star.
Chi Virginis is a double star in the constellation Virgo. Based upon parallax measurements, it is approximately 315 light-years from Earth. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.65, which is bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye under suitable viewing conditions.
HD 38529 is a binary star approximately 138 light-years away in the constellation of Orion.
HD 196885 is a binary star system in the northern constellation of Delphinus. It comprise a pair of stars HD 196885 A and HD 196885 B on a 69-years eccentric orbit.
HD 185269 is a stellar triple system approximately 170 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. It is easily visible to binoculars, but not the naked eye.
Gliese 86 is a K-type main-sequence star approximately 35 light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus. It has been confirmed that a white dwarf orbits the primary star. In 1998 the European Southern Observatory announced that an extrasolar planet was orbiting the star.
HAT-P-6 also named Sterrennacht is a star in the constellation Andromeda, located approximately 895 light years or 274 parsecs away from the Earth. It is an F-type star, implying that it is hotter and more massive than the Sun. The apparent magnitude of the star is +10.54, which means that it can only be visible through the telescope. The absolute magnitude of +3.36 is brighter than the Sun's +4.83, meaning that the star itself is brighter than the Sun. A search for a binary companion star using adaptive optics at the MMT Observatory turned out negative.
ADS 16402 is a binary star system, composed of two sun-like stars located approximately 525 light-years away in the constellation Lacerta. It was first identified as a binary star by John Herschel in 1831. The two stars are separated by 11.26 arcseconds which leads to a projected separation of roughly 1500 astronomical units at the distance of ADS 16402. The star system is estimated to be 1.9 ± 0.6 billion years old. The secondary star ADS 16402 B is also designated HAT-P-1.
NN Serpentis is an eclipsing post-common envelope binary system approximately 1670 light-years away. The system comprises an eclipsing white dwarf and red dwarf. The two stars orbit each other every 0.13 days.
Kepler-9 is a sunlike star in the constellation Lyra. Its planetary system, discovered by the Kepler Mission in 2010 was the first detected with the transit method found to contain multiple planets.
Kepler-41 or KOI-196 is a star in the constellation Cygnus. It is a G-type main-sequence star, like the Sun, and it is located about 3,68 light-years away. It is fairly similar to the Sun, with 115% of its mass, a radius of 129% times that of the Sun, and a surface temperature of 5,750 K. Search for stellar companions to Kepler-41 in 2013-2014 has yielded inconclusive results, compatible with Kepler-41 being the single star.
Kepler-20 is a star about 934 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra with a system of at least five, and possibly six, known planets. The apparent magnitude of this star is 12.51, so it cannot be seen with the unaided eye. Viewing it requires a telescope with an aperture of 15 cm (6 in) or more. It is slightly smaller than the Sun, with 94% of the Sun's radius and about 91% of the Sun's mass. The effective temperature of the photosphere is slightly cooler than that of the Sun at 5466 K, giving it the characteristic yellow hue of a stellar class G8 star. The abundance of elements other than hydrogen or helium, what astronomers term the metallicity, is approximately the same as in the Sun. It may be older than the Sun, although the margin of error here is relatively large.
Kepler-25 is a star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It is slightly larger and more massive than the sun with a luminosity 21⁄2 times that of the sun. With an apparent visual magnitude of 10.6, this star is too faint to be seen with the naked eye.
Kepler-102 is a star 353 light-years away in the constellation of Lyra. Kepler-102 is less luminous than the Sun. The star system does not contain any observable amount of dust. Kepler-102 is suspected to be orbited by a binary consisting of two red dwarf stars, at projected separations of 591 and 627 AU.
Kepler-13 or KOI-13 is a stellar triple star system consisting of Kepler-13A, around which an orbiting hot Jupiter exoplanet was discovered with the Kepler spacecraft in 2011, and Kepler-13B a common proper motion companion star which has an additional star orbiting it.
HD 179070, also known as Kepler-21, is a F-type subgiant star 354 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. A transiting exoplanet was discovered orbiting this star by the Kepler spacecraft. At a magnitude of 8.25 this was the brightest star observed by Kepler to host a validated planet until the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting HD 212657 in 2018.
HD 233731, or HAT-P-22, is a suspected multiple star system in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It is invisible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 9.732. This system is located at a distance of 267 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +13 km/s.
HD 217786 is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Pisces. With an apparent visual magnitude of 7.78, it requires binoculars or a small telescope to view. The system is located at a distance of 181 light-years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +10 km/s. Kinematically, the star system belongs to the thin disk population of the Milky Way.