Kepler-12 is a star with a transiting planet

Kepler-12b Kepler-12b is a hot Jupiter that orbits G-type star Kepler-12 some away. The planet has an anomalously large radius that could not be explained by standard models at the time of its discovery, almost 1.7 times Jupiter's size while being 0.4 ti ...

in a 4-day orbit.

Characteristics

Kepler-12, known also as KIC 11804465 in the Kepler Input Catalog, is an early G-type to late F-type star. This corresponds strongly with a sunlike dwarf star nearing the end of the

main sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...

, and is about to become a

red giant A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses ()) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around or ...

. Kepler-12 is located approximately 900 parsecs (2,950

light year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

s) away from Earth. The star also has an apparent magnitude of 13.438, which means that it cannot be seen from Earth with the unaided eye. The star is slightly more massive, slightly more iron-rich and slightly hotter than the Sun. However, Kepler-12 is larger, with a radius of 1.483 times the Sun's radius.

Planetary system

The one currently known planet is a hot Jupiter with a radius 1.7 times that of Jupiter but less than half the mass.

References

Draco (constellation) G-type main-sequence stars Planetary systems with one confirmed planet Planetary transit variables 20 {{main-star-stub