All About Kepler 186
- 5 interior planets
- 1 in the “Goldilocks Zone” (186f)
- ~500 lightyears from Earth in the constellation Cygnus
- Discovery confirmed February 2014
- 4 innermost planets are tidally locked
- 186f has about a 50% chance of being tidally locked
-There is an unusual spacing between Kepler 186e and 186f
- There may be 1 or 2 more small planets between 186e and 186f, and one beyond 186f
- Theorized by the Titus-Bode Law and Dermott’s Law
-If there are planets in between 186e and 186f they are most likely a few degrees off the orbital plane
-If there are no intermediate planets, Kepler 186f most likely formed further out and drifted inwards.
-This chart shows simulated formations of the star system versus the observed star system
Instrument + Techniques Used in Detection
- Planetary Transits
- Measure decrease in stellar luminosity and infer existence of planet
- Kepler Telescope
The Star (Kepler 186)
- M1V Type dwarf star (Red Dwarf)
- Half the mass, half the size, and roughly half the metallicity of the sun
Image courtesy of NASA JPL, CalTech
- 1 in the “Goldilocks Zone” (186f)
- ~500 lightyears from Earth in the constellation Cygnus
- Discovery confirmed February 2014
- 4 innermost planets are tidally locked
- 186f has about a 50% chance of being tidally locked
-There is an unusual spacing between Kepler 186e and 186f
- There may be 1 or 2 more small planets between 186e and 186f, and one beyond 186f
- Theorized by the Titus-Bode Law and Dermott’s Law
-If there are planets in between 186e and 186f they are most likely a few degrees off the orbital plane
-If there are no intermediate planets, Kepler 186f most likely formed further out and drifted inwards.
-This chart shows simulated formations of the star system versus the observed star system
Instrument + Techniques Used in Detection
- Planetary Transits
- Measure decrease in stellar luminosity and infer existence of planet
- Kepler Telescope
The Star (Kepler 186)
- M1V Type dwarf star (Red Dwarf)
- Half the mass, half the size, and roughly half the metallicity of the sun
Image courtesy of NASA JPL, CalTech