Kepler-56b
Kepler-56b is an Exoplanet located roughly 2,800 light years away. It is slightly smaller than Neptune and orbits its parent star Kepler-56 and was discovered in 2012 by the Kepler Space Telescope.
Planetary Orbit
Kepler-56b is about 0.1082 AU away from its host star.[1] About one-tenth of the distance between Earth to the Sun, making it even closer to its parent star than Mercury and Venus, it takes 10.5 days for it to complete a full orbit around Kepler-56.[2] Further research shows that Kepler-56b's orbit is about 45° misaligned to the host star's equator. Later radial velocity measurements have revealed evidence of a gravitational perturbation but currently it is not clear if it is a nearby star or a third planet.
Both Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c will be devoured by their parent star in about 130 and 155 million years.[3] Even further research shows that it will have its atmosphere boiled away by intense heat from the star, and it will be stretched by the strengthening stellar tides.[3]
References
- ^ "The Extrasolar Planet Encyclopaedia — Kepler-56 b". exoplanet.eu. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
- ^ "Planets Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c will eventually be consumed by nearby star -". thespacereporter.com. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
- ^ a b "Cosmic Snack: Planets Kepler-56b And Kepler-56c Will Be Swallowed Whole By Host Star". ibtimes.com. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
External links
- Steffen, Jason H; Fabrycky, Daniel C; Agol, Eric (20 August 2012). "Transit Timing Observations from Kepler: VII. Confirmation of 27 planets in 13 multiplanet systems via Transit Timing Variations and orbital stability". Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 428 (2): 1077. arXiv:1208.3499. Bibcode:2013MNRAS.428.1077S. doi:10.1093/mnras/sts090.
- "Kepler-56b". kepler.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
- "Star to Swallow not One, but Two Exoplanets."
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