Kepler-16: A Transiting Circumbinary Planet
Author(s)
Winn, Joshua Nathan
Date Issued
September 2011
Journal
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
Doyle, L. R., J. A. Carter, D. C. Fabrycky, R. W. Slawson, S. B. Howell, J. N. Winn, J. A. Orosz, et al. “Kepler-16: A Transiting Circumbinary Planet.” Science 333, no. 6049 (September 15, 2011): 1602–1606.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
We report the detection of a planet whose orbit surrounds a pair of low-mass stars. Data from the Kepler spacecraft reveal transits of the planet across both stars, in addition to the mutual eclipses of the stars, giving precise constraints on the absolute dimensions of all three bodies. The planet is comparable to Saturn in mass and size and is on a nearly circular 229-day orbit around its two parent stars. The eclipsing stars are 20 and 69% as massive as the Sun and have an eccentric 41-day orbit. The motions of all three bodies are confined to within 0.5° of a single plane, suggesting that the planet formed within a circumbinary disk.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1210923
