KIC 7917485b: A 12 Jupiter Mass Gas Giant Around an A Class Star in the Habitable Zone

A planet in an 840-d orbit around a Kepler main-sequence A star found from phase modulation of its pulsations

Authors:

Murphy et al

Abstract:

We have detected a 12 MJup planet orbiting in or near the habitable zone of a main-sequence A star via the pulsational phase shifts induced by orbital motion. The planet has an orbital period of 840±20 d and an eccentricity of 0.15. All known planets orbiting main-sequence A stars have been found via the transit method or by direct imaging. The absence of astrometric or radial-velocity detections of planets around these hosts makes ours the first discovery using the orbital motion. It is also the first A star known to host a planet within 1σ of the habitable zone. We find evidence for planets in a large fraction of the parameter space where we are able to detect them. This supports the idea that A stars harbor high-mass planets in wide orbits.

A Type Star Orbiting, Habitable ZoneKIC 7917485b was Detected With a Novel Method

Astronomers find most exoplanets from indirect signals, noticing changes in the light of the planet’s host star instead of by seeing the planet itself. But some stars’ light changes all on its own, making these methods tricky at best. KIC 7917485b is the first exoplanet identified around a main sequence A-type star from its orbital motion, and the first found near an A -typestar’s habitable zone.

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