The Ecliptic Plane Input Catalog (or EPIC) is a publicly searchable database of stars and planets that is associated with the K2 "Second Light" plan of the Kepler space telescope mission. [1] [2] [3] Examples of related stars include: EPIC 201563164, EPIC 204278916, EPIC 204376071 and EPIC 249706694. Examples of related planets include: EPIC 203771098 b, EPIC 203771098 c, EPIC 206011691 c and EPIC 211945201 b.
In November 2013, a new mission plan named K2 "Second Light" was presented for consideration. [4] [5] [6] [7] K2 would involve using Kepler's remaining capability, photometric precision of about 300 parts per million, compared with about 20 parts per million earlier, to collect data for the study of "supernova explosions, star formation and Solar-System bodies such as asteroids and comets, ... " and for finding and studying more exoplanets. [4] [5] [7] In this proposed mission plan, Kepler would search a much larger area in the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. [4] [5] [7]
A reaction wheel (RW) is used primarily by spacecraft for three-axis attitude control, and does not require rockets or external applicators of torque. They provide a high pointing accuracy, and are particularly useful when the spacecraft must be rotated by very small amounts, such as keeping a telescope pointed at a star.
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.
19 Tauri is a double star in the constellation of Taurus and a member of the Pleiades open star cluster (M45).
LP Aquarii is a pulsating variable star in the constellation of Aquarius that varies between magnitudes 6.30 and 6.64. The position of the star near the ecliptic means it is subject to lunar occultations.
Kepler-5 is a star located in the constellation Cygnus in the field of view of the Kepler Mission, a NASA project aimed at detecting planets in transit of, or passing in front of, their host stars as seen from Earth. One closely orbiting, Jupiter-like planet, named Kepler-5b, has been detected around Kepler-5. Kepler-5's planet was one of the first five planets to be discovered by the Kepler spacecraft; its discovery was announced on January 4, 2010 at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society after being verified by a variety of observatories. Kepler-5 is larger and more massive than the Sun, but has a similar metallicity, a major factor in planet formation.
Kepler-7 is a star located in the constellation Lyra in the field of view of the Kepler Mission, a NASA operation in search of Earth-like planets. It is home to the fourth of the first five planets that Kepler discovered; this planet, a Jupiter-size gas giant named Kepler-7b, is as light as styrofoam. The star itself is more massive than the Sun, and is nearly twice the Sun's radius. It is also slightly metal-rich, a major factor in the formation of planetary systems. Kepler-7's planet was presented on January 4, 2010 at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
A Kepler object of interest (KOI) is a star observed by the Kepler space telescope that is suspected of hosting one or more transiting planets. KOIs come from a master list of 150,000 stars, which itself is generated from the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC). A KOI shows a periodic dimming, indicative of an unseen planet passing between the star and Earth, eclipsing part of the star. However, such an observed dimming is not a guarantee of a transiting planet, because other astronomical objects—such as an eclipsing binary in the background—can mimic a transit signal. For this reason, the majority of KOIs are as yet not confirmed transiting planet systems.
The NASA Exoplanet Archive is an online astronomical exoplanet catalog and data service that collects and serves public data that support the search for and characterization of extra-solar planets (exoplanets) and their host stars. It is part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and is on the campus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, CA. The archive is funded by NASA and was launched in early December 2011 by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute as part of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program. In June 2019, the archive's collection of confirmed exoplanets surpassed 4,000.
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 2,430 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.
HIP 116454 b, or K2-2 b, is an exoplanet orbiting the star HIP 116454, 62 parsecs (201 ly) from Earth toward the constellation Pisces. It is 32,000 kilometres (20,000 mi) in diameter and 12 times as massive as Earth. It was discovered by the NASA Kepler spacecraft, and is the first exoplanet discovered during Kepler's K2 mission. The discovery was announced on December 18, 2014. HIP 116454 b does not have a normal Kepler designation due to not being located in the original Kepler field.
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 1,800 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.
K2-72 is a cool red dwarf star of spectral class M2.7V located about 217 light-years away from the Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. It is known to host four planets, all similar in size to Earth, with one of them residing within the habitable zone.
K2-72e (also known by its EPIC designation EPIC 206209135.04), is a confirmed exoplanet, likely rocky, orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star K2-72, the outermost of four such planets discovered in the system by NASA's Kepler spacecraft on its "Second Light" mission. It is located about 217.1 light-years (66.56 parsecs, or nearly 2.0538×1015 km) away from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. 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-442 is a K-type main-sequence star approximately 1,206 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 notable 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 3,400 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.
K2-33 is an extremely young pre-main-sequence star located about 456 light-years (140 pc) away from the Earth in the constellation of Scorpius. It is known to host one planet, a super-Neptune, named K2-33b. It is also notable for its young age.
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