List of exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope

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An artist's rendition of Kepler-62f, a potentially habitable exoplanet discovered using data transmitted by the Kepler space telescope Kepler-62f with 62e as Morning Star.jpg
An artist's rendition of Kepler-62f, a potentially habitable exoplanet discovered using data transmitted by the Kepler space telescope

The list of exoplanets detected by the Kepler space telescope contains bodies with a wide variety of properties, with significant ranges in orbital distances, masses, radii, composition, habitability, and host star type. As of June 16 2023, the Kepler space telescope and its follow-up observations have detected 2,778 confirmed planets, [1] [2] [3] [4] including hot Jupiters, super-Earths, circumbinary planets, and planets located in the circumstellar habitable zones of their host stars. In addition, Kepler has detected over 3,601 unconfirmed planet candidates [5] [6] and 2,165 eclipsing binary stars. [6]

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In addition to detecting planets itself, Kepler has also uncovered the properties of three previously known extrasolar planets. Public Kepler data has also been used by groups independent of NASA, such as the Planet Hunters citizen-science project, to detect several planets orbiting stars collectively known as Kepler Objects of Interest. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Kepler, launched on March 7, 2009, was designed to observe a fixed portion of the sky in visible light and measure the light curves of the various stars in its field of view, looking for planets crossing in front of their host stars via the transit method. [12] [13] Since the launch of the spacecraft, though, both the Kepler team at NASA and independent researchers have found new ways of detecting planets, including the use of the transit timing variation method and relativistic beaming. [14] In addition, gravitational microlensing has been proposed as a method of using Kepler to detect compact objects, such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. [13] Kepler has also measured the reflected light from some planets already known, discovering planets undetectable with the transit method [15] as well as improving knowledge of the characteristics of planets already discovered. [16]

On February 26, 2014, NASA announced the discovery of 715 newly verified exoplanets around 305 stars by the Kepler Space Telescope. The exoplanets were found using a statistical technique called "verification by multiplicity". 95% of the discovered exoplanets were smaller than Neptune and four, including Kepler-296f, were less than 2 1/2 the size of Earth and were in habitable zones where surface temperatures are suitable for liquid water. [17] [18] [19]

On May 10, 2016, NASA announced that the Kepler mission has verified 1,284 new planets. [20] Based on some of the planet's sizes, about 550 could potentially be rocky planets. Nine of these orbit in their stars' habitable zone. [20]

List

All exoplanets discovered lie in one of the three northern constellations of Cygnus, Lyra and Draco, which contain Kepler's photometer's field of view.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exoplanet</span> Planet outside the Solar System

An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, initially detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. As of 26 August 2023, there are 5,502 confirmed exoplanets in 4,064 planetary systems, with 876 systems having more than one planet. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to discover more exoplanets, and also much more about exoplanets, including composition, environmental conditions and potential for life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler space telescope</span> NASA satellite for exoplanetology (2009–2018)

The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit. The principal investigator was William J. Borucki. After nine and a half years of operation, the telescope's reaction control system fuel was depleted, and NASA announced its retirement on October 30, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exomoon</span> Moon beyond the Solar System

An exomoon or extrasolar moon is a natural satellite that orbits an exoplanet or other non-stellar extrasolar body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of exoplanets</span>

These are lists of exoplanets. As of 24 August 2023, there are 5,502 confirmed exoplanets in 4,096 planetary systems, with 928 systems having more than one planet. Most of these were discovered by the Kepler space telescope. There are an additional 1,984 potential exoplanets from Kepler's first mission yet to be confirmed, as well as 977 from its "Second Light" mission and 4,476 from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methods of detecting exoplanets</span>

Any planet is an extremely faint light source compared to its parent star. For example, a star like the Sun is about a billion times as bright as the reflected light from any of the planets orbiting it. In addition to the intrinsic difficulty of detecting such a faint light source, the light from the parent star causes a glare that washes it out. For those reasons, very few of the exoplanets reported as of April 2014 have been observed directly, with even fewer being resolved from their host star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super-Earth</span> Planet with a mass between Earth and Uranus

A Super-Earth is a type of exoplanet with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below those of the Solar System's ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, which are 14.5 and 17 times Earth's, respectively. The term "super-Earth" refers only to the mass of the planet, and so does not imply anything about the surface conditions or habitability. The alternative term "gas dwarfs" may be more accurate for those at the higher end of the mass scale, although "mini-Neptunes" is a more common term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth analog</span> Planet with environment similar to Earths

An Earth analog, also called an Earth analogue, Earth twin, or second Earth, is a planet or moon with environmental conditions similar to those found on Earth. The term Earth-like planet is also used, but this term may refer to any terrestrial planet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discoveries of exoplanets</span> Detecting planets located outside the Solar System

An exoplanet is a planet located outside the Solar System. The first evidence of an exoplanet was noted as early as 1917, but was not recognized as such until 2016; no planet discovery has yet come from that evidence. What turned out to be the first detection of an exoplanet was published among a list of possible candidates in 1988, though not confirmed until 2003. The first confirmed detection came in 1992, with the discovery of terrestrial-mass planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12. The first confirmation of an exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence star was made in 1995, when a giant planet was found in a four-day orbit around the nearby star 51 Pegasi. Some exoplanets have been imaged directly by telescopes, but the vast majority have been detected through indirect methods, such as the transit method and the radial-velocity method. As of 26 August 2023, there are 5,502 confirmed exoplanets in 4,064 planetary systems, with 876 systems having more than one planet. This is a list of the most notable discoveries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-22b</span> Super-Earth exoplanet orbiting Kepler-22

Kepler-22b is an exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of the Sun-like star Kepler-22. It is located about 640 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus. It was discovered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope in December 2011 and was the first known transiting planet to orbit within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star, where liquid water could exist on the planet's surface. Kepler-22 is too dim to be seen with the naked eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-69c</span> Super-Earth orbiting Kepler-69

Kepler-69c is a confirmed super-Earth extrasolar planet, likely rocky, orbiting the Sun-like star Kepler-69, the outermore of two such planets discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft. It is located about 2,430 light-years from Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-62</span> K-type star in the constellation Lyra

Kepler-62 is a K-type main sequence star cooler and smaller than the Sun, located roughly 980 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. It resides within the field of vision of the Kepler spacecraft, the satellite that NASA's Kepler Mission used to detect planets that may be transiting their stars. On April 18, 2013, it was announced that the star has five planets, two of which, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are within the star's habitable zone. The outermost, Kepler-62f, is likely a rocky planet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-62e</span> Habitable-zone super-Earth planet orbiting Kepler-62

Kepler-62e is a super-Earth exoplanet discovered orbiting within the habitable zone of Kepler-62, the second outermost of five such planets discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft. Kepler-62e is located about 990 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Lyra. The exoplanet was found using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. Kepler-62e may be a terrestrial or ocean-covered planet; it lies in the inner part of its host star's habitable zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-69</span> Star in the constellation Cygnus

Kepler-69 is a G-type main-sequence star similar to the Sun in the constellation Cygnus, located about 2,430 ly (750 pc) from Earth. On April 18, 2013 it was announced that the star has two planets. Although initial estimates indicated that the terrestrial planet Kepler-69c might be within the star's habitable zone, further analysis showed that the planet very likely is interior to the habitable zone and is far more analogous to Venus than to Earth and thus completely inhospitable.

Kepler-61 is a K-type main-sequence star approximately 1,100 light years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. It is located within the field of vision of the Kepler spacecraft, the satellite that NASA's Kepler Mission used to detect planets that may be transiting their stars. On April 24, 2013 it was announced that the star has an extrasolar planet orbiting in the inner edge of the habitable zone, named Kepler-61b.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-438b</span> Super-Earth orbiting Kepler-438

Kepler-438b is a confirmed near-Earth-sized exoplanet. It is likely rocky. It orbits on the inner edge of the habitable zone of a red dwarf, Kepler-438, about 472.9 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. It receives 1.4 times our solar flux. The planet was discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. NASA announced the confirmation of the exoplanet on 6 January 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-442b</span> Super-Earth orbiting Kepler-442

Kepler-442b is a confirmed near-Earth-sized exoplanet, likely rocky, orbiting within the habitable zone of the K-type main-sequence star Kepler-442, about 1,206 light-years (370 pc) from Earth in the constellation of Lyra.

Kepler-296e is a confirmed Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of Kepler-296. The planet was discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. NASA announced the discovery of the exoplanet on 26 February 2014.

Kepler-296f is a confirmed super-Earth exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of Kepler-296. The planet was discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. NASA announced the discovery of the exoplanet on 26 February 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-452</span> G-type main-sequence star in the constellation Cygnus

Kepler-452 is a G-type main-sequence star located about 1,800 light-years away from Earth in the Cygnus constellation. Although similar in temperature to the Sun, it is 20% brighter, 3.7% more massive and 11% larger. Alongside this, the star is approximately six billion years old and possesses a high metallicity. Thus, Kepler-452 can be considered a solar twin, although it could be considered a solar analog due to its age.

Kepler-1229 is a red dwarf star located about 870 light-years (270 pc) away from the Earth in the constellation of Cygnus. It is known to host a super-Earth exoplanet within its habitable zone, Kepler-1229b, which was discovered in 2016.

References

Footnotes

    Citations

    1. ↑ Exoplanet and Candidate Statistics. Confirmed Planets Discovered by Kepler, exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech
    2. ↑ NASA Retires Kepler Space Telescope, jpl.nasa.gov, Oct 30, 2018
    3. ↑ 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.
    4. ↑ "'Alien Earth' is among eight new far-off planets". BBC. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
    5. ↑ Wall, Mike (5 September 2013). "NASA Exoplanet archive". TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
    6. 1 2 "NASA - Kepler". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
    7. ↑ Schneider, Jean. "Notes for star Kepler-9". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia . Archived from the original on 2011-01-03. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
    8. ↑ Schneider, Jean. "Kepler-41b". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia . Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
    9. ↑ "Kepler-43b". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia . Retrieved 8 February 2017.
    10. ↑ "Kepler-44b". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia . Retrieved 8 February 2017.
    11. ↑ "Kepler-46b". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia . Retrieved 8 February 2017.
    12. ↑ BBC Staff (7 March 2009). "Nasa launches Earth hunter probe". BBC News . Retrieved 2009-03-14.
    13. 1 2 Sahu, K. C.; Gilliland, R. L. (2003). "Near‐Field Microlensing and Its Effects on Stellar Transit Observations byKepler". The Astrophysical Journal. 584 (2): 1042–1052. arXiv: astro-ph/0210554 . Bibcode:2003ApJ...584.1042S. doi:10.1086/345776. S2CID   13043236.
    14. ↑ Moskowitz, Clara (May 13, 2013). "'Einstein's Planet': New Alien World Revealed by Relativity". Space.com. TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
    15. ↑ Charpinet, S.; Fontaine, G.; Brassard, P.; Green, EM; Van Grootel, V.; Randall, SK; Silvotti, R.; Baran, AS; Østensen, RH; Kawaler, SD; et al. (2011). "A compact system of small planets around a former red-giant star". Nature. 480 (7378): 496–499. Bibcode:2011Natur.480..496C. doi:10.1038/nature10631. PMID   22193103. S2CID   2213885.
    16. ↑ Borucki, W.J.; Koch, D.; Jenkins, J.; Sasselov, D.; Gilliland, R.; Batalha, N.; Latham, D. W.; Caldwell, D.; et al. (2009). "Kepler's Optical Phase Curve of the Exoplanet HAT-P-7b". Science. 325 (5941): 709. Bibcode:2009Sci...325..709B. doi:10.1126/science.1178312. PMID   19661420. S2CID   206522122.
    17. ↑ Johnson, Michele; Harrington, J.D. (February 26, 2014). "NASA's Kepler Mission Announces a Planet Bonanza, 715 New Worlds". NASA . Retrieved February 26, 2014.
    18. ↑ Wall, Mike (26 February 2014). "Population of Known Alien Planets Nearly Doubles as NASA Discovers 715 New Worlds". Space.com . Retrieved 26 February 2014.
    19. ↑ "Kepler telescope bags huge haul of planets" . Retrieved 27 February 2014.
    20. 1 2 "NASA's Kepler Mission Announces Largest Collection of Planets Ever Discovered". NASA. NASA News. May 10, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
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