A group of researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the University of Tokyo, and the Astrobiology Center among others has observed the transit of a potentially Earth-like extrasolar planet known as K2-3d using the MuSCAT instrument on the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory 188-cm telescope. A transit is a phenomenon in which a planet passes in front of its parent star, blocking a small amount of light from the star, like a shadow of the planet. While transits have previously been observed for thousands of other extrasolar planets, K2-3d is important because there is a possibility that it might harbor extraterrestrial life.
By observing its transit precisely using the next generation of telescopes, such as TMT, scientists expect to be able to search the atmosphere of the planet for molecules related to life, such as oxygen.
With only the previous space telescope observations, however, researchers can't calculate the orbital period of the planet precisely, which makes predicting the exact times of future transits more difficult. This research group has succeeded in measuring the orbital period of the planet with a high precision of about 18 seconds. This greatly improved the forecast accuracy for future transit times. So now researchers will know exactly when to watch for the transits using the next generation of telescopes. This research result is an important step towards the search for extraterrestrial life in the future.
Doppler Monitoring of five K2 Transiting Planetary Systems
Authors:
Dai et al
Abstract:
In an effort to measure the masses of planets discovered by the NASA {\it K2} mission, we have conducted precise Doppler observations of five stars with transiting planets. We present the results of a joint analysis of these new data and previously published Doppler data. The first star, an M dwarf known as K2-3 or EPIC~201367065, has three transiting planets ("b", with radius 2.1 R⊕; "c", 1.7 R⊕; and "d", 1.5 R⊕). Our analysis leads to the mass constraints: Mb=8.1+2.0−1.9 M⊕ and Mc less than 4.2 M⊕~(95\%~conf.). The mass of planet d is poorly constrained because its orbital period is close to the stellar rotation period, making it difficult to disentangle the planetary signal from spurious Doppler shifts due to stellar activity. The second star, a G dwarf known as K2-19 or EPIC~201505350, has two planets ("b", 7.7 R⊕; and "c", 4.9 R⊕) in a 3:2 mean-motion resonance, as well as a shorter-period planet ("d", 1.1 R⊕). We find Mb= 28.5+5.4−5.0 M⊕, Mc= 25.6+7.1−7.1 M⊕ and Md less than 14.0 M⊕~(95\%~conf.). The third star, a G dwarf known as K2-24 or EPIC~203771098, hosts two transiting planets ("b", 5.7 R⊕; and "c", 7.8 R⊕) with orbital periods in a nearly 2:1 ratio. We find Mb= 19.8+4.5−4.4 M⊕ and Mc = 26.0+5.8−6.1 M⊕.
Spitzer Observations of Exoplanets Discovered with The Kepler K2 Mission
Authors:
Beichman et al
Abstract:
We have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to observe two transiting planetary systems orbiting low mass stars discovered in the Kepler K2 mission. The system K2-3 (EPIC 201367065) hosts three planets while EPIC 202083828 (K2-26) hosts a single planet. Observations of all four objects in these two systems confirm and refine the orbital and physical parameters of the planets. The refined orbital information and more precise planet radii possible with Spitzer will be critical for future observations of these and other K2 targets. For K2-3b we find marginally significant evidence for a Transit Timing Variation between the K2 and Spitzer epochs.
A HARPS view on K2-3
Authors:
Almenara et al
Abstract:
K2 space observations recently found that three super-Earths transit the nearby M dwarf K2-3. The apparent brightness and the small physical radius of their host star rank these planets amongst the most favourable for follow-up characterisations. The outer planet orbits close to the inner edge of the habitable zone and might become one of the first exoplanets searched for biomarkers using transmission spectroscopy. We used the HARPS velocimeter to measure the mass of the planets. The mass of planet b is 8.4±2.1 M⊕, while our determination of those planets c and d are affected by the stellar activity. With a density of 4.32+2.0−0.76 gcm−3, planet b is probably mostly rocky, but it could contain up to 50% water.
