Kepler Planet-Detection Mission: Introduction and First Results
Abstract
The Kepler mission was designed to determine the frequency of Earth-sized planets in and near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. The habitable zone is the region where planetary temperatures are suitable for water to exist on a planet's surface. During the first 6 weeks of observations, Kepler monitored 156,000 stars, and five new exoplanets with sizes between 0.37 and 1.6 Jupiter radii and orbital periods from 3.2 to 4.9 days were discovered. The density of the Neptune-sized Kepler-4b is similar to that of Neptune and GJ 436b, even though the irradiation level is 800,000 times higher. Kepler-7b is one of the lowest-density planets (~0.17 gram per cubic centimeter) yet detected. Kepler-5b, -6b, and -8b confirm the existence of planets with densities lower than those predicted for gas giant planets.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 19, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA559102
Entities
People
- Alan Gould
- Andrea K. Dupree
- David Koch
- David W. Latham
- Douglas Caldwell
- Edna Devore
- Edward W. Dunham
- Gibor Basri
- Joergen Christensen-dalsgaard
- John A. Caldwell
- John C. Geary
- Jon M. Jenkins
- Natalie Batalha
- Ronald Gilliland
- Steve B. Howell
- Thomas N. Gautier Iii
- Timothy Brown
- William D. Cochran
- William J. Borucki
- Yoji Kondo
Organizations
- United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station