Kepler-93b

Kepler-93b

Kepler-93b

Super-Earth exoplanet in constellation Lyra


Kepler-93b (KOI-69b) is a hot, dense transiting Super-Earth exoplanet located approximately 313 light-years (96 parsecs)[4] away in the constellation of Lyra,[5][6] orbiting the G-type star[5] Kepler-93. Its discovery was announced in February 2014 by American astronomer Geoffrey Marcy and his team.[1] In July 2014, its radius was determined with a mere 1.3% margin of error, the most precise measurement ever made for an exoplanet's radius at the time.[7]

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Physical properties

An artist's impression comparing the size and internal structure of Earth (left) and Kepler-93b (right).

The planet has a radius of around 1.478 R🜨 (9,416 km), with an uncertainty of just 0.019 R🜨 (121 km),[8] making it the most precisely measured exoplanet ever in terms of radius as of July 2014.[7] The planet is substantially denser than Earth at 6.88±1.18 g/cm3[9] thanks to its high mass of roughly 4 ME, consistent with a rocky composition of iron and magnesium silicate.[9] In 2023, the planet's mass was revised upward to 4.66±0.53 ME, placing its density at 7.93+0.96
0.94
g/cm3,[3] roughly the same as the metal iron (7.874 g/cm3).[10]

Based on these findings, the interior of the planet is likely similar to that of Earth and Venus, with an iron core making up around 26% of its total mass (albeit with a large uncertainty of ±20%),[11] compared to the 32.5 ± 0.1% of Earth and 31 ± 1% of Venus.[11]

The planet orbits its host star every 4.73 days[8] at a distance of 0.05343 AU (7,993,000 km),[3] less than one-seventh the radius of Mercury's orbit. Its equilibrium temperature is approximately 1,133 K (860 °C; 1,580 °F),[3] which is as hot as lava and well above the melting point of aluminium.[lower-alpha 1]

Host star

The planet orbits a Sun-like (spectral type G5V)[5] star named Kepler-93. The star has a mass of 0.911 M and a radius of 0.919 R. It has a temperature of 5,669 K (5,396 °C; 9,745 °F) and is 6.6 billion years old.[8] In comparison, the Sun is 4.6 billion years old,[14] has a temperature of 5,772 K (5,499 °C; 9,930 °F) and a spectral type of G2V.[15] The apparent magnitude of the star is 9.931,[9] making it too dim to be visible from Earth by the naked eye.[16]

The star is host to an additional non-transiting confirmed companion, Kepler-93c, which was discovered using the radial-velocity method and announced in 2014, concurrently with Kepler-93b.[1] The object is most likely a brown dwarf orbiting much farther out than Kepler-93b, though its precise nature remains uncertain. The discovery paper reported a lower limit on the mass of 3 MJ and a minimal orbital period of 1,460 days (4.0 years),[1] while a subsequent study in 2015 weighed the planet at >8.5 MJ and presented an orbital period of >10 years, placing its orbit beyond 4.5 AU from the star,[9] and a 2023 study increased these lower limits further, to a mass >21 MJ, an orbital period >48.6 years, and a semi-major axis >13 AU.[3]

See also

Footnotes

  1. The temperature of lava is typically at 800–1,200 °C (1,070–1,470 K; 1,470–2,190 °F);[12] aluminium melts at 660.32 °C (933.47 K; 1,220.58 °F).[13]

References

  1. Marcy, Geoffrey W.; et al. (February 2014). "Masses, Radii, and Orbits of Small Kepler Planets: The Transition from Gaseous to Rocky Planets". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 210 (2): 20. arXiv:1401.4195. Bibcode:2014ApJS..210...20M. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/210/2/20. hdl:1721.1/92945. S2CID 10760418.
  2. Bonomo, A. S.; Dumusque, X.; et al. (September 2023). "Cold Jupiters and improved masses in 38 Kepler and K2 small planet systems from 3661 HARPS-N radial velocities. No excess of cold Jupiters in small planet systems". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 677: A33. arXiv:2304.05773. Bibcode:2023A&A...677A..33B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346211. S2CID 258078829.
  3. "BD+38 3853". SIMBAD. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  4. "Gauging an Alien World's Size". NASA. 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  5. Arblaster, John W. (2018). Selected Values of the Crystallographic Properties of Elements. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. ISBN 978-1-62708-155-9.
  6. Philpotts, Anthony R.; Ague, Jay J. (2009). Principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 53–55. ISBN 9780521880060.
  7. "Technical data for the element Aluminum in the Periodic Table". The Photographic Periodic Table of the Elements. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  8. Connelly, JN; Bizzarro, M; Krot, AN; Nordlund, Å; Wielandt, D; Ivanova, MA (2 November 2012). "The Absolute Chronology and Thermal Processing of Solids in the Solar Protoplanetary Disk". Science. 338 (6107): 651–655. Bibcode:2012Sci...338..651C. doi:10.1126/science.1226919. PMID 23118187. S2CID 21965292.(registration required)
  9. Williams, D.R. (1 July 2013). "Sun Fact Sheet". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Archived from the original on 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
  10. John E. Bortle (February 2001). "The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale". Sky & Telescope. Archived from the original on 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2009-11-18.

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