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<\/p>\nWhile the Kepler Space Telescope mission officially came to an end on 30 October 2018, starlight data recorded by the observatory continues to reveal new and intriguing exo-solar system objects. Among the recently-announced discoveries from Kepler data include an exoplanet of unusual size and the first potential exomoon around an exoplanet.<\/p>\n
Kepler \u2013 showing us we\u2019re not alone in the galaxy (in terms of planets):<\/b><\/p>\n
The big question at the time of the Kepler Space Telescope\u2019s launch was how prevalent exoplanets were in our nearby swath of the galaxy. While exoplanets were already known to exist, their prevalence was still a mystery.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem prior to Kepler was a lack of dedicated ground-based assets that could be \u2013 for lack of a better term \u2013 commandeered for long enough periods of time for the prolonged observations needed to gain a realistic understanding of exoplanet numbers and distribution.<\/p>\n
To find and confirm exoplanets, direct observation of stars over multiple months and years is necessary in order to identify exoplanet candidates either by the transit (when an exoplanet passes between its parent star and the telescope causing an observable drop in light) or radial velocity (measuring the gravitational tug or wobble on a star from an exoplanet) methods of detection.<\/p>\n
In short, the astronomical community was in desperate need of a dedicated telescope that could be placed in a stable orbit to perform prolonged observations of a single patch of stars over multiple years.<\/p>\n
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The Kepler Space Telescope. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n
Enter the Kepler Space Telescope, a mission designed to function in an Earth-trailing orbit around the Sun and conduct precise, ultra-sensitive light curve measurements of the same set of stars in a single patch of sky for at least three years.<\/p>\n
At the time of launch, mission scientists were quite up front about what they expected Kepler to reveal to them: they didn\u2019t know. Kepler was a completely revolutionary mission that carried the real possibility of returning information that exoplanets were uncommon and that are solar system was unique.<\/p>\n
Space Shuttle (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n But as many suspected, Kepler proved the exact opposite. As of publication, Kepler has been responsible for the confirmation of 2,336 exoplanets with an additional 2,424 candidate exoplanets still awaiting confirmation. With these numbers, Kepler is responsible for the discovery of 60% of the total number of known exoplanets \u2013 which stands today at 3,891.<\/p>\n Recent Kepler discoveries:<\/b><\/p>\n Even though Kepler\u2019s mission ended months ago, it will take years if not decades to examine the immense wealth of information the telescope collected over its nine and a half years of operation.<\/p>\n Therefore, it\u2019s not surprising that Kepler continues to reveal exoplanet and astronomy discoveries that are helping scientists better understand our exosolar neighbors and the stars they orbit.<\/p>\n An exoplanet with a unique size:<\/p>\n One of the exciting things about the data returned from Kepler is quite simply the amount of it; but with these observations have come surprises, like the Fulton Gap.<\/p>\n Exoplanet K2-288Bb, located 226 light years away, orbits the fainter member of a pair of cool M-type stars every 31.3 days. (Credit: NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\/Francis Reddy)<\/p>\n Of all the exoplanets observed in close orbits of their parent stars, there is a surprising lack of exoplanets in this category with sizes ranging between 1.5 and 2 times that of Earth. This void is known as the Fulton Gap.<\/p>\n But K2-288Bb might be the break astronomers have been hoping to find. With an estimated size of 1.9 times Earth and with a close orbital period of just 31.3 days, K2-288Bb resides firmly inside the Fulton Gap.<\/p>\n The exoplanet is either a rocky super-Earth or a gas-rich Neptune-like planet located 226 light years from Earth in a binary M-type star system \u2013 the two stars themselves separated by a distance roughly equal to that between the Sun and Saturn \u2013 and orbits only the smaller of the two stars.<\/p>\n But confirmation of K2-288Bb\u2019s existence was almost missed due to peculiarities in the data obtained by Kepler during the second phase of its mission, known as K2.<\/p>\n During K2, Kepler periodically reoriented itself to examine different patches of the sky, and this reorientation caused slight temperature differentials and telescope orientation changes; to get around the effects these anomalies had on the light information obtained by Kepler, scientists largely ignored the first few days of data gathered during each new K2 campaign. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/K2-288Bb.jpg\")
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