Kepler-62f

Kepler-62f
Artist's impression of the Kepler-62 system (sizes to scale) compared to the planets of the inner Solar System with their respective habitable zones.
Discovery
Discovered byKepler space telescope
Discovery date18 April 2013[1][2]
Transit[1]
Orbital characteristics
0.718 ± 0.007[1] AU
Eccentricity~0[1]
267.291 ± 0.005[1] d
Inclination89.90 ± 0.03[1]
StarKepler-62 (KOI-701)
Physical characteristics
1.461±0.070 R🜨[3]
Mass2.8±0.4 M🜨[1]
TemperatureTeq: 208 K (−65 °C; −85 °F)

Kepler-62f[1][2][4] (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-701.04) is a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of the star Kepler-62, the outermost of five such planets discovered around the star by NASA's Kepler space telescope. It is located about 982 light-years (301 parsecs) from Earth in the constellation of Lyra.[5]

Kepler-62f orbits its parent star at a distance of 0.718 AU (107,400,000 km; 66,700,000 mi) from its host star with an orbital period of roughly 267 days, and has a radius of around 1.41 times that of Earth. It is one of the more promising candidates for potential habitability, as its parent star is a relatively quiet star, and has less mass than the Sun – thus it can live up to a span of about 30 billion years or so.[6] Based on its size, Kepler-62f is likely a terrestrial or ocean-covered planet. However, key components of the exoplanet still need to be assessed to determine habitability; such as its atmosphere if one exists, since it lies within the outer part of its host star's habitable zone.[1][7]

The discovery of the exoplanet–along with Kepler-62e–was announced in April 2013 by NASA as part of the Kepler space telescope data release.[1] 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. According to scientists, it is a potential candidate to search for extraterrestrial life, and was chosen as one of the targets to study by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program.[8]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cite error: The named reference Borucki was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NASA-20130418 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Borucki2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Overbye, Dennis (18 April 2013). "2 Good Places to Live, 1,200 Light-Years Away". New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Kepler-62f: A Possible Water World". Space.com. 13 May 2016.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference KTypePosLife was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "3 Potentially Habitable Super-Earth Planets Explained (Infographic)". Space.com. 18 April 2013.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kepler-62 SETI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).