Kepler-9c

Kepler-9c
Size comparison of Kepler-9c (left) with Jupiter (right)
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byKepler Mission team
Discovery siteKepler space telescope
Discovery date26 August 2010
Transit
Designations
KOI-377.02[3]
Orbital characteristics
0.225 ± 0.001 AU (33,660,000 ± 150,000 km)
Eccentricity0
38.91 d
Inclination88.12
StarKepler-9[4]
Physical characteristics
0.823 ± 0.067 RJ
Mass0.171 ± 0.013 MJ
Temperature536K

Kepler-9c is one of the first seven extrasolar planets, exoplanets, discovered by NASA's Kepler Mission, and one of at least two planets orbiting the star Kepler-9. Kepler-9c and Kepler-9b were the first exoplanets confirmed to be transiting their star.[5][1] The planet's discovery was announced by the Kepler Mission team on August 26, 2010 after its initial discovery by Kepler. At the time, it was one of 700 planetary candidates noted by Kepler.

Observations of the planet have suggested that it is a hydrogen–helium gas giant that is slightly smaller than Saturn, and that it orbits nearby its star at .225 AU. Kepler-9c and b are notable in that the planets share a pattern of orbital resonance, in which the orbit of each planet stabilizes the orbit of the other. During the time it was observed by the spacecraft, the planet's orbit, which lasts on average approximately 38 days, shortened by 39 minutes every orbital period because of this effect. Its orbit, over time, oscillates slightly above and below a 2:1 ratio with planet b.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Holman2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Torres2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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