Kepler-68

Kepler-68

Kepler-68

Star in the constellation Cygnus

Kepler-68 is a Sun-like main sequence star located 471 light-years (144 parsecs) away in the constellation Cygnus. It is known to have at least four planets orbiting around it.[3] The third planet has a mass similar to Jupiter but orbits within the habitable zone.[5]

Quick Facts Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000, Constellation ...

High resolution imaging observations of Kepler-68 carried out with the lucky imaging instrument AstraLux on the 2.2m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory detected a wide companion candidate approximately 11 arcseconds away. Comparing these observations to the 2MASS positions shows that the companions proper motion is consistent with it being bound to the Kepler-68 system, but further observations are needed to confirm this conclusion.[6] Eleven arcseconds at the distance of Kepler-68 leads to a sky projected separation of approximately 1600 Astronomical units. A circular orbit at that distance would have a period of roughly 50,000 years.[7]

Planetary system

Currently, four planets have been discovered to orbit around Kepler-68. The two innermost planets were discovered by the planetary transit method. Follow-up Doppler measurements helped to determine the mass of Kepler-68b and helped to discover Kepler-68d.[5][8] There is an additional signal present in the radial velocity measurements indicating another body in the system at a period of greater than 10 years. The mass of this object was initially unknown and it could be either another planet or a stellar companion.[7] In 2023, this fourth planet was confirmed, with a minimum mass about that of Saturn.[3]

More information Companion (in order from star), Mass ...

References

  1. [1]
    Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv:2208.00211. Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940. S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. [2]
    Høg, E. (2000). "The Tycho-2 catalogue of the 2.5 million brightest stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 355: L27–L30. Bibcode:2000A&A...355L..27H.
  3. [3]
    Bonomo, A. S.; Dumusque, X.; et al. (April 2023). "Cold Jupiters and improved masses in 38 Kepler and K2 small-planet systems from 3661 high-precision HARPS-N radial velocities. No excess of cold Jupiters in small-planet systems". Astronomy & Astrophysics. arXiv:2304.05773. Bibcode:2023A&A...677A..33B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346211. S2CID 258078829.
  4. [4]
    "Kepler-68". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  5. [5]
    Gilliland, Ronald L.; et al. (2013). "Kepler-68: Three Planets, One with a Density Between That of Earth and Ice Giants". The Astrophysical Journal. 766 (1). 40. arXiv:1302.2596. Bibcode:2013ApJ...766...40G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/766/1/40.
  6. [6]
    Ginski, C.; et al. (2016). "A lucky imaging multiplicity study of exoplanet host stars – II". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 457 (2): 2173–2191. arXiv:1601.01524. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.457.2173G. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw049.
  7. [7]
    Mills, Sean M.; et al. (2019). "Long-period Giant Companions to Three Compact, Multiplanet Systems". The Astronomical Journal. 157 (4). 145. arXiv:1903.07186. Bibcode:2019AJ....157..145M. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab0899. S2CID 119197547.
  8. [8]
    Marcy, Geoffrey W.; et al. (2014). "Masses, Radii, and Orbits of Small Kepler Planets: The Transition from Gaseous to Rocky Planets". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 210 (2). 20. arXiv:1401.4195. Bibcode:2014ApJS..210...20M. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/210/2/20.
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