Kepler-296e (also known by its
Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-1422.05) is a confirmed Earth-sized
exoplanet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
orbiting within the
habitable zone of
Kepler-296. The planet was discovered by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Kepler spacecraft
The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orb ...
using the
transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. NASA announced the discovery of the exoplanet on 26 February 2014.
Confirmed exoplanet
Kepler-296e is a
super-Earth with a radius 1.75 times that of
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. The planet orbits Kepler-296 once every 34.1 days.
Habitability
The planet was announced as being located within the
habitable zone of Kepler-296, a region where
liquid water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...
could exist on the surface of the
planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
. As of 2017, with an ESI of 0.85, it is the fifth-most Earth-like planet after
Kepler-438b, TRAPPIST-1 d, and two Gliese-designated planets, GJ 3323 b and GJ 273 b, which were both discovered in 2017.
See also
*
Habitability of red dwarf systems
The habitability of red dwarf systems is presumed to be determined by a large number of factors from a variety of sources. Modern evidence indicates that planets in red dwarf systems are unlikely to be habitable, due to their low stellar flux, ...
*
List of potentially habitable exoplanets
References
External links
NASA – Kepler Mission
NASA – Kepler Discoveries – Summary Table
NASA – Kepler-296eat
The NASA Exoplanet Archive.
NASA – Kepler-296eat
The Exoplanet Data Explorer.
NASA – Kepler-296eat
The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia
The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia is an astronomy website, founded in Paris, France at the Meudon Observatory by Jean Schneider in February 1995, which maintains a database of all the currently known and candidate extrasolar planets, with indi ...
.
Habitable Exolanets Catalogat
UPR-Arecibo.
{{Sky, 19, 06, 9.60, +, 49, 26, 14.37
Exoplanets discovered in 2014
296e
Exoplanets in the habitable zone
Super-Earths in the habitable zone
Transiting exoplanets
Kepler-296