Kepler: Latest Activities and a New Mission Alan Gould, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley

Mission: Determine if Earths are common or rare in our galaxy.

Provide data to for future missions that measure composition

of exoplanet atmospheres

SAO

Astronomy

Education

Alliance

Meeting

Global

Hands-On

Universe

2014 Sept 8

Cascais,

Portugal

Education Page from Kepler Website

kepler.nasa.gov

Transit Tracks Orrery Light Curve

How many planets?

Which is biggest?

Which is closest to the star?

How can you tell?

Online Interactive:

MANY PLANETS ARE SIMILAR TO EARTH IN SIZE

SIZE DISTRIBUTION AND CHANGE OVER ONE YEAR OF

OPERATIONS

Most large planets have been found,

but many small planets are yet to be discovered.

Estimated Occurrence Rate of

Planetary Candidates

50<Porb

<300 day (Burke et al. 2014)

DISINTEGRATING PLANET

Rappaport et al., 2000, ApJ749:1

Evaporation time scale ~ 0.2 Gyr

Semi-major axis = 0.013 AU

Orbital Period = 15.7 hours

Star: KIC 12557548;

Mid-K; Teff = 4400K

Tp ~ 2100K

Radius =1.47 R

Mass =3.33 M

Density = 5.8 gr/cm3

Semi-major axis = 0.0167 AU

Orbital Period = 0.84 days

Equilibrium Temperature = 1833 K

CIRCUMBINARY PLANETS ARE BEING DISCOVERED

Corrected view from Tatooine Kepler-16b; Size = 8.4 R

Orbitial Period = 228.8 days

Density = 0.964 gr/cc

Teq = -88 C = -126 F

KEPLER-47: A PLANETARY SYSTEM ORBITING A DOUBLE STAR WITH ONE PLANET IN THE HABITABLE ZONE

Sizes = 3.0 R & 4.6 R

Orbital periods = 49.5 d & 303.2 days

Star A; Teff = 5636, R* = 1.04 Rsun

Kepler-47c is in the habitable zone of the binary and receives an average

flux of 0.87 Solar. (For reference, Mars & Venus receive 0.43 & 1.91 S0, respectively.

Size: 2.38 R

Orbital period: 289.9 d

Mass (upper limit, 1 ): ≤ 36 M

Star: 5518 K, R*= 0.979 Rʘ, [Fe/H] = -0.29

KEPLER-22b; POSSIBLE WATER-PLANET

IN THE HABITABLE ZONE

EARTH-SIZE PLANET IN THE HZ ORBITING A RED DWARF STAR

Most stars have planets!

Earth-size planets are common

Planets are being found in the hz

However no earth-size planets orbiting a star like our sun have been

discovered.

APPROXIMATELY 1 BILLION EARTH-SIZE PLANETS IN THE HZ OF

SOLAR LIKE STARS!

We have made the first step in our exploration of our galaxy.

We have a long way to go:

Do the planets have atmospheres? Do they have H2O & CO2 needed for

life?

Do they have life? Do they have intelligent life?

THE BIG QUESTION:

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

K2 Mission

Reaction wheel

Planned target fields of view

SOMEWHERE by Ray Goodwin

Somewhere there are mountains

Glistening in the snow

Somewhere there are mountains

That we shall never know

Somewhere there are rivers

Flowing fast and free

Somewhere there are rivers

That we can never see

Somewhere there are oceans

And sun drenched island sands

Forests full of creatures

In vastly distant lands

Somewhere there’s a planet

Beneath an alien star

The people watch our tiny sun

And wonder where we are

One day perhaps we’ll find them

Across the void of space

Perhaps through ways as yet not known

We’ll meet them face to face