The Kepler Mission S. R. Kulkarni

https://kepler.nasa.gov/images/videos/transitAnimation1.mov

KEPLER HAS THE PRECISION TO FIND EARTHS & IT IS THE FIRST TO DISCOVER LIGHT FROM THIS PLANET Measurement scatter is within the line thickness. Magnification by 7 shows transits + occultation Occultation is the size of a transit by Earth-size planet. Rise in light between transits is discovery of light from the planet itself.

IS IT A PLANET OR A FALSE POSITIVE? 44 IS IT A PLANET OR A FALSE POSITIVE? M* = 1.3 MSun Mplanet = 3.9 ± 0.19 MJupiter r = 6.31 g/cm3

ACTIVE-OPTICS IMAGE OF THE TARGET “STAR” SHOWS IT TO BE TWO STARS The fact that there are two stars instead of one makes it difficult to determine the size of the planet and its distance from its star and therefore whether it is in the habitable zone.

KEPLER: A Wide Field-of-View Photometer that Monitors ≥150,000 Stars for 3.5 yrs with Enough Precision to Find Earth-size Planets in the Habitable Zone Observe for several years to detect transit patterns. Monitor a single large area on the sky continuously to avoid missing transits. Use heliocentric orbit . Observe up to 170,000 targets at 30 minute cadence & 512 at 1 minute cadence. Photometry done on the ground. 1.4m Primary Mirror Focal Plane Radiator 95 cm Schmidt Corrector Focal Plane w/ 42 Science CCD’s & 4 Fine Guidance Sensors Focal Plane Electronics Get statistically valid results by monitoring ≥100,000 stars with; Wide Field-of-view telescope (100 sq deg), and Large array of CCD detectors. Optical pass band of the instrument 94.6 million science pixels 42 science CCDs, 2 channels each 4 fine guidance sensor (FGS) CCDs

LAUNCH ON MARCH 6, 2009 Click to edit Master text styles Second level Third level Fourth level Fifth level 53-week, Earth-trailing orbit

Click link or graphic to play movie: Kepler Field of View Click link or graphic to play movie: http://kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/AnimationsandMore/animations/mediateleconanimations/?ImageID=106

Kepler Orrery or·rer·y ˈôrərē/ noun noun: orrery; plural noun: orreries a mechanical model of the solar system, or of just the sun, earth, and moon, used to represent their relative positions & motions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnY1Vl6BaYo

Today!

Pushing to ηEarth – Q1-Q17 planet catalogue 12 new, small planet candidates in the habitable zone 521 new planet candidates total Detection completeness measured over full observing baseline, full target list Automated vetting procedure

Earth-like planet

KEPLER’S FIRST ROCKY PLANET: KEPLER-10b

Kepler-10 Light Curve

Kepler-10 Light Curve Period = 45.29 days

Kepler-10 Light Curve Period = 45.29 days

Kepler-10 Light Curve Period = 45.29 days Period = .84 days

Kepler-10 Light Curve Period = 45.29 days Period = .84 days

Doppler Measurements Yield Planet Mass Mass = 4.6 M

Composition of Kepler-10b

Multi-planet systems

Durations in Systems

Kepler-11 parameters Fix spacings.

Asteroseismology

Kepler results are a major improvement over all prior observations. ASTEROSEISMOLOGY RESULTS PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE SIZE AND AGES OF STARS & PLANETS Old, slowly pulsating stars. Young, rapidly oscillating stars. Frequency-power spectra of three solar-like stars. Color-magnitude diagram for NGC 6819. Kepler results are a major improvement over all prior observations.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS EXCITE “A” STARS KOI-54: The Remarkable Pulsating, Periastron-Pumped Binary Star. W. Wesh et al

KEPLER ASTEROSEISMIC SCIENCE CONSORTIUM INVESTIGATIONS