Observation data Epoch J2000 [2] Equinox J2000 [2] | |
---|---|
Constellation | Cygnus [3] |
Right ascension | 19h 19m 03.26334s [4] |
Declination | +51° 57′ 45.4099″ [4] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.699±0.010 [5] |
Characteristics | |
Evolutionary stage | Main sequence |
Spectral type | G5V [6] [note 1] |
Apparent magnitude (J) | 11.501±0.023 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (H) | 11.182±0.03 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (K) | 11.116±0.022 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (B1) | 12.34 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (R1) | 12.62 [2] |
B−V color index | 0.072 [6] |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | −17.79±1.88 [4] km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: 3.427 mas/yr [4] Dec.: 16.047 mas/yr [4] |
Parallax (π) | 2.9134 ± 0.0105 mas [4] |
Distance | 1,120 ± 4 ly (343 ± 1 pc) |
Absolute bolometric magnitude (Mbol) | 5.01+0.12 −0.12 [7] [note 2] |
Details [5] | |
Mass | 0.958±0.034 M☉ |
Radius | 0.961+0.016 −0.015 R☉ |
Luminosity (bolometric) | 0.79+0.09 −0.08 [8] L☉ |
Surface gravity (log g) | 4.45±0.02 cgs |
Temperature | 5711+60 −59 K |
Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.03±0.04 dex |
Rotation | 22.6 days |
Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 1.43±0.78 [8] km/s |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
KIC | data |
PH2, also known as Kepler-86, [1] or KIC 12735740 (2MASS J19190326+5157453), is a G-type star [8] [note 1] 1,120 light-years (340 parsecs ) distant [4] within the constellation Cygnus. [3] Roughly the size and temperature [6] of the Sun, [10] PH2 gained prominence when it was known to be the host of one of 42 planet candidates detected by the Planet Hunters citizen science project in its second data release. [11] The candidate orbiting around PH2, known as PH2b, had been determined to have a spurious detection probability of only 0.08%, thus effectively confirming its existence as a planet. [8]
Located in its parent star's habitable zone, PH2b (or Kepler-86b [1] ) is a Jupiter-size gas giant which could in theory host a natural satellite suitable for hosting life. [11] The report of the confirmed detection of PH2b was submitted on January 3, 2013. [8] It was discovered by amateur Pole Rafał Herszkowicz using his laptop and access to the Internet project with data from the Kepler space observatory. [12]
PH2 b was detected, along with 42 other planet candidates, in archival data from Kepler by the Planet Hunters project, in which human volunteers analyze the light curves of Kepler target stars, searching for planetary transit signals which may be missed by computer programs. [8] Previous work by Planet Hunters helped to confirm the existence of PH1b, a Neptune-mass planet within a four-star system.
All of the candidates in the study, including PH2b, were identified by citizen scientists Abe J. Hoekstra, Thomas Lee Jacobs, Daryll LaCourse, Hans Martin Schwengler, Rafał Herszkowicz and Mike Chopin among others, with the help of Yale University astronomers. [8] In addition to PH2b itself, twenty other planet candidates were found which are located in the habitable zones of their host stars; however, these have a relatively high probability of spurious detection and may well come from non-planetary sources. [8]
Although the planet's initial detection was made using Kepler data, PH2's stellar spectra, required to rule out background stars or faint companions with planets as sources for the observed transits, were collected using the HIRES instrument at the W. M. Keck Observatory. [8] Results of observations confirmed the existence of PH2b with "99.9 percent confidence." [8] [11]
PH2 is host to one confirmed planet, PH2b, orbiting with a period of about 282 days, placing it and any possible moons in the habitable zone. [11] The temperature in the upper atmosphere of the planet could range from 185 K (−88 °C; −127 °F) to 303 K (30 °C; 86 °F). [8] A moon of PH2b would likely have "a rocky core, plus a greenhouse atmosphere of some sort that could have liquid water on its surface" in the words of the researchers, thus further improving its prospects for habitability. [11]
In 2019, the mass of the planet was measured by radial velocity, showing it to be close in mass to Saturn. [5]
Companion (in order from star) | Mass | Semimajor axis (AU) | Orbital period (days) | Eccentricity | Inclination | Radius |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
b | 108.81+29.79 −32.29 M🜨 | 0.824+0.019 −0.017 | 282.52540+0.00010 −0.00011 | 0.280+0.121 −0.133 | 89.915+0.020 −0.022 ° | 9.49±0.16 R🜨 |
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 1 July 2024, there are 6,660 confirmed exoplanets in 4,868 planetary systems, with 995 systems having more than one planet. This is a list of the most notable discoveries.
Kepler-42, formerly known as KOI-961, is a red dwarf located in the constellation Cygnus and approximately 131 light years from the Sun. It has three known extrasolar planets, all of which are smaller than Earth in radius, and likely also in mass.
Kepler-1520 is a K-type main-sequence star located in the constellation Cygnus. The star is particularly important, as measurements taken by the Kepler spacecraft indicate that the variations in the star's light curve cover a range from about 0.2% to 1.3% of the star's light being blocked. This indicates that there may be a rapidly disintegrating planet, a prediction not yet conclusively confirmed, in orbit around the star, losing mass at a rate of 1 Earth mass every billion years. The planet itself is about 0.1 Earth masses, or just twice the mass of Mercury, and is expected to disintegrate in about 100-200 million years. The planet orbits its star in just 15.7 hours, at a distance only two stellar diameters away from the star's surface, and has an estimated effective temperature of about 2255 K. The orbital period of the planet is one of the shortest ever detected in the history of the extrasolar planet search. In 2016, the planet was confirmed as part of a data release by the Kepler spacecraft.
Planet Hunters is a citizen science project to find exoplanets using human eyes. It does this by having users analyze data from the NASA Kepler space telescope and the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. It was launched by a team led by Debra Fischer at Yale University, as part of the Zooniverse project.
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.
Kepler-69 is a G-type main-sequence star similar to the Sun in the constellation Cygnus, located about 2,390 ly (730 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.
Kepler-186 is a main-sequence M1-type dwarf star, located 177.5 parsecs away in the constellation of Cygnus. The star is slightly cooler than the sun, with roughly half its metallicity. It is known to have five planets, including the first Earth-sized world discovered in the habitable zone: Kepler-186f. The star hosts four other planets discovered so far, though they all orbit interior to the habitable zone.
Kepler-444 is a triple star system, estimated to be 11.2 billion years old, approximately 119 light-years (36 pc) away from Earth in the constellation Lyra. On 27 January 2015, the Kepler spacecraft is reported to have confirmed the detection of five sub-Earth-sized rocky exoplanets orbiting the main star. The star is a K-type main sequence star. All of the planets are far too close to their star to harbour life forms.
Kepler-452 is a G-type main-sequence star located about 1,810 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.
Kepler-371 is a star some 2,680 ly away from the Earth. It hosts a multi planetary system consisting of 2 confirmed Super-Earths, as well as 1 unconfirmed Near-Earth sized exoplanet in its habitable zone.
Kepler-1229 is a red dwarf star located about 875 light-years (268 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.
Kepler-442 is a K-type main-sequence star approximately 1,196 light years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. 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 January 6, 2015, along with the stars of Kepler-438 and Kepler-440, it was announced that the star has an extrasolar planet orbiting within the habitable zone, named Kepler-442b.
Kepler-419 is an F-type main-sequence star located about 3,280 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. In 2012, a potential planetary companion in a very eccentric orbit was detected around this star, but its planetary nature was not confirmed until 12 June 2014, when it was named Kepler-419b. A second planet was announced orbiting further out from the star in the same paper, named Kepler-419c.
TOI-700 is a red dwarf 101.4 light-years away from Earth located in the Dorado constellation that hosts TOI-700 d, the first Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
Kepler-174 is a K-type main-sequence star located in the Milky Way galaxy at a distance of about 1,254 light-years away from the Sun. It is located inside the boundaries of the Lyra constellation, but it is too dim to be visible to the unaided eye and is not part of the main outline.
Kepler-737b is a super-Earth exoplanet 669 light years away. There is a chance it could be on the inner edge of the habitable zone.
Kepler-737 is an M-type main-sequence red dwarf located 671 light-years away on the border of the constellation Cygnus.