Kepler reveals an amazing system that includes seven super-Earths

An artist’s concept showing two of the seven discovered planets orbiting a sun-like star. The system, called Kepler-385, was identified using data from NASA’s Kepler mission. Image credit: NASA/Daniel Rutter

NASAData from NASA’s Kepler telescope have revealed a new system called Kepler-385 that includes seven large, hot planets orbiting a star slightly larger and hotter than our sun.

A system of seven extremely hot planets has been revealed by ongoing study of data from NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope: Each one of them bathes in more radiation heat from its host star per region than any planet in our solar system. Unlike any of our immediate neighbors, the seven planets in this system, called Kepler 385, are larger but smaller than Earth. Neptune. It is one of the few planetary systems known to have more than six confirmed planets or planet candidates. The Kepler-385 system is among the highlights of A New Kepler Catalog It contains approximately 4,400 planet candidates, including more than 700 multi-planet systems.

Accurately cataloging exoplanets

“We have compiled the most accurate list of Kepler planet candidates and their characteristics to date,” said Jack Lessauer, a research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and lead author of the paper presenting the new catalog. “NASA’s Kepler mission has discovered the majority of known exoplanets, and this new catalog will enable astronomers to learn more about their properties.”

Concept art for Kepler-385, the seven-planet system, has been revealed in a new catalog of planet candidates discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope. Image credit: NASA/Daniel Rutter

At the center of the Kepler-385 system is a Sun-like star that is about 10% larger and 5% hotter than the Sun. The two inner planets, both slightly larger than Earth, are likely rocky and may have thin atmospheres. The other five planets are larger – each with a radius of about twice the size of Earth – and are expected to be surrounded by a thick atmosphere.

Advanced data analysis and ongoing discoveries

Being able to describe the properties of the Kepler-385 system in such detail is a testament to the quality of this latest catalog of exoplanets. While the final catalogs of the Kepler mission focused on producing improved lists to measure the prevalence of planets around other stars, this study focuses on producing a comprehensive list that provides accurate information about each of the systems, making discoveries like Kepler-385 possible.

The new catalog uses improved measurements of stellar properties and more accurately calculates the path of each transiting planet through its host star. This combination shows that when a star hosts several transiting planets, they usually have more circular orbits than if the star hosts only one or two.

Kepler’s initial observations stopped in 2013, followed by the expanded telescope mission, called K2, which continued until 2018. Data collected by Kepler continue to reveal new discoveries about our galaxy. With the mission already showing us that there are more planets than stars, this new study paints a more detailed picture of what each of those planets and their major systems look like, giving us a better view of the many worlds beyond our solar system.

The research article, “Updated Catalog of Kepler Planet Candidates: Focus on Resolution and Orbital Periods,” will be published soon in Planetary Science Journal.

Reference: “The Updated Catalog of Kepler’s Planetary Candidates: Emphasis on Resolution and Orbital Periods” by Jack J. Lessauer, Jason F. Rowe, Daniel Gontov Hutter, Daniel C. Fabbriki, Eric B. Ford, Darren Ragozin, Jason H. Stephen, and Kadri M. system, acceptable, Planetary Science Journal.
arXiv:2311.00238