Kepler-62b
{{Short description|Hot Super-Earth orbiting Kepler-62}}
{{Infobox planet
| name = Kepler-62b
| discoverer = Borucki et al.
| discovery_site = Kepler Space Observatory
| discovery_method = Transit (Kepler Mission)
| apsis = astron
| semimajor = 0.0553 ± 0.0005 AU
| period = 5.714932 ± 0.000009 d
| star = Kepler-62 (KOI-701)
| mean_radius = 1.31 ± 0.04 {{Earth radius|link=y}}
| mass = {{val|9|p=<}} {{Earth mass|sym=y|link=y}}
| single_temperature = Teq: {{convert|750|K|C F}}
}}
Kepler-62b (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-701.02) is the innermost and the second smallest discovered exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-62, with a diameter roughly 30% larger than Earth. It was found using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. It is likely to have an equilibrium temperature slightly higher than the surface temperature of Venus (around {{convert|750|K|C F}}), high enough to melt some types of metal.{{Cite journal | last=Borucki | first=William J. | author-link=William J. Borucki |display-authors=etal | title=Kepler-62: A Five-Planet System with Planets of 1.4 and 1.6 Earth Radii in the Habitable Zone | journal=Science Express| date=18 April 2013 |doi=10.1126/science.1234702 |arxiv = 1304.7387 |bibcode = 2013Sci...340..587B | pmid=23599262 | volume=340 | issue=6132 | pages=587–90| hdl=1721.1/89668 | s2cid=21029755 }} Its stellar flux is 70 ± 9 times Earth's.
Physical characteristics
=Mass, radius and temperature=
Kepler-62b is a super-Earth, an exoplanet with a radius and mass bigger than Earth but smaller than that of the ice giants Neptune and Uranus. It has an equilibrium temperature of {{convert|750|K|C F}}. This is hot enough to melt some types of metal. It has a radius of 1.3 {{earth radius}}, placing it below the estimated radius of ≤1.6 {{earth radius}} where it would otherwise be a mini-Neptune with a volatile composition, with no solid surface.{{Cite news|url=https://astrobites.org/2014/07/31/most-1-6-earth-radius-planets-are-not-rocky/|title=Most 1.6 Earth-radius planets are not rocky|newspaper=Astrobites |date=31 July 2014|last1=Angus |first1=Ruth }} However, the mass is currently not known, estimates place an upper limit of <9 {{Earth mass|sym=y}}, the actual mass is expected to be significantly lower than this.
=Host star=
{{main|Kepler-62}}
The planet orbits a (K-type) star named Kepler-62, orbited by a total of five planets, of which Kepler-62f has the lengthiest orbital period. The star has a mass of 0.69 {{solar mass}} and a radius of 0.64 {{solar radius}}. It has a temperature of 4925 K and is 7 billion years old. In comparison, the Sun is 4.6 billion years old{{cite web |url=http://www.universetoday.com/18237/how-old-is-the-sun/ |title=How Old is the Sun? |author=Fraser Cain |date=16 September 2008 |publisher=Universe Today |access-date=19 February 2011}} and has a surface temperature of 5778 K.{{cite web |url=http://www.universetoday.com/18092/temperature-of-the-sun/ |title=Temperature of the Sun |author=Fraser Cain |date=15 September 2008 |publisher=Universe Today |access-date=19 February 2011}}
The star's apparent magnitude, or how bright it appears from Earth's perspective, is 13.65. Therefore, it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye.
=Orbit=
Discovery
In 2009, NASA's Kepler spacecraft was completing observing stars on its photometer, the instrument it uses to detect transit events, in which a planet crosses in front of and dims its host star for a brief and roughly regular period of time. In this last test, Kepler observed {{val|50,000}} stars in the Kepler Input Catalog, including Kepler-62; the preliminary light curves were sent to the Kepler science team for analysis, who chose obvious planetary companions from the bunch for follow-up at observatories. Observations for the potential exoplanet candidates took place between 13 May 2009 and 17 March 2012. After observing the respective transits, which for Kepler-62b occurred roughly every 5 days (its orbital period), it was eventually concluded that a planetary body was responsible for the periodic 5-day transits. The discovery, along with the planetary system of the star Kepler-69 were announced on April 18, 2013.
References
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{{Kepler-62}}
{{Exoplanets}}
{{2013 in space}}
{{Sky|18|52|51.06019|+|45|20|59.507}}
Category:Exoplanets discovered in 2013