Two transiting earth-size planets near resonance orbiting a nearby cool star
Article
Article Title | Two transiting earth-size planets near resonance orbiting a nearby cool star |
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ERA Journal ID | 1057 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Petigura, Erik A. (Author), Schlieder, Joshua E. (Author), Crossfield, Ian J M (Author), Howard, Andrew W. (Author), Deck, Katherine M. (Author), Ciardi, David R. (Author), Sinukoff, Evan (Author), Allers, Katelyn N. (Author), Best, William M. J. (Author), Liu, Michael C. (Author), Beichman, Charles A. (Author), Isaacson, Howard (Author), Hansen, Brad M. S. (Author) and Lepine, Sebastien (Author) |
Journal Title | The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics |
Journal Citation | 811 (2), pp. 102-110 |
Article Number | 102 |
Number of Pages | 9 |
Year | 2015 |
Publisher | IOP Publishing |
Place of Publication | United States |
ISSN | 0004-637X |
1538-4357 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/811/2/102 |
Web Address (URL) | http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/811/2/102 |
Abstract | Discoveries from the prime Kepler mission demonstrated that small planets (<3 ) are common outcomes of planet formation. While Kepler detected many such planets, all but a handful orbit faint, distant stars and are not amenable to precise follow up measurements. Here, we report the discovery of two small planets transiting K2-21, a bright (K = 9.4) M0 dwarf located pc from Earth. We detected the transiting planets in photometry collected during Campaign 3 of NASA's K2 mission. Analysis of transit light curves reveals that the planets have small radii compared to their host star,Rp/-Rfseq 1∗ = % and %, respectively. We obtained follow up NIR spectroscopy of K2-21 to constrain host star properties, which imply planet sizes of 1.59 ± 0.43 and 1.92 ± 0.53 , respectively, straddling the boundary between high-density, rocky planets and low-density planets with thick gaseous envelopes. The planets have orbital periods of 9.32414 days and 15.50120 days, respectively, and a period ratio Pc/Pb = 1.6624, very near to the 5:3 mean motion resonance, which may be a record of the system's formation history. Transit timing variations due to gravitational interactions between the planets may be detectable using ground-based telescopes. Finally, this system offers a convenient laboratory for studying the bulk composition and atmospheric properties of small planets with low equilibrium temperatures. |
Keywords | planets and satellites: detection; stars: individual (EPIC-206011691); techniques: photometric techniques: spectroscopic; |
Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510109. Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
Public Notes | For access to this article, please click on the URL link provided. |
Byline Affiliations | California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States | |
University of Arizona, United States | |
University of Hawaii, United States | |
Bucknell University, United States | |
University of California, United States | |
Georgia State University, United States | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q42zx/two-transiting-earth-size-planets-near-resonance-orbiting-a-nearby-cool-star
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