Kepler-124b
{{Infobox planet
| name = Kepler-124b
| discovered = 20 March 2014{{cite web |title=TEPCat: Kepler-124b |url=https://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/jkt/tepcat/planets/Kepler-124b.html |website=astro.keele.ac.uk |accessdate=13 April 2020}}
| discovery_method = Primary Transit{{cite web|url=https://exoplanet.eu/catalog/kepler_124_b--2101/|work=Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia|title=Planet Kepler-124 b|access-date=28 August 2017}}
| apsis = astron
| semimajor = {{convert|0.039|AU|km|abbr=on}}
| period = 3.4105 ± 0.0000 d
| star = Kepler-124
| mean_radius = 0.729 ± 0.045 {{Earth radius|link=y}}
}}
Kepler-124b is an extrasolar planet discovered in 2014. It is located {{convert|359|pc|abbr=off}} from Earth, orbiting the unclassified star Kepler-124 in the constellation Cygnus. Within The Kepler-124 system (KOI-241) there are three known planets, Kepler-124b being both the smallest and closest to its parent star.
Characteristics
Kepler-124b is located {{convert|359|pc|abbr=off}} from Earth orbiting the star Kepler-124. Both Kepler-124b and its host star are smaller than our own planet and star, respectively; Kepler-124b is estimated to be 0.729±0.045 Earth radii (0.065±0.004 Jupiter radii), and its parent star Kepler-124 is estimated to be 68.7% of the mass the Sun, approximately 0.636±0.030 solar radii.
It is the smallest discovered planet in the Kepler-124 system, and has the closest orbit of the three known planets. Kepler-124b orbits 96% closer to its star than Earth (approximately 3 Earth days), which in the Kepler-124 system is inside the inner limit of the star's habitable zone.
Discovery
Like many Exoplanets discovered by the Kepler telescope, Kepler-124b was found using the transit method. The transit method utilizes the high magnification and numerous instruments on the Kepler telescope to detect slight fluctuations in brightness of a star being observed. These dips can indicate the presence planet and determine certain parameters of it as well. Kepler-124b was initially only a planet candidate but was later confirmed as an exoplanet; a statistical analysis by a team at NASA Ames Research Center validated the existence of Kepler-124b with 99% assurance, along with Kepler-124c and Kepler-124d. Although scientists are very confident about some of Kepler-124b's parameters, many are still unknown.{{Cite web|url=http://www.openexoplanetcatalogue.com/planet/Kepler-124%20b/|title=Kepler-124|website=Open Exoplanet Catalogue|accessdate=28 August 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/transit-photometry.html|title=Transit Photometry: A Method for Finding Earths|website=The Planetary Society|accessdate=28 August 2017}}