K2-288Bb: A Small Temperate Planet in a Low-mass Binary System Discovered by Citizen Scientists
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Observations from the Kepler and K2 missions have provided the astronomical community with unprecedented amounts of data to search for transiting exoplanets and other astrophysical phenomena. Here, we present K2-288, a low-mass binary system (M2.0 ± 1.0; M3.0 ± 1.0) hosting a small ( R p = 1.9 R ⊕ ), temperate ( T eq = 226 K) planet observed in K2 Campaign 4. The candidate was first identified by citizen scientists using Exoplanet Explorers hosted on the Zooniverse platform. Follow-up observations and detailed analyses validate the planet and indicate that it likely orbits the secondary star on a 31.39-day period. This orbit places K2-288Bb in or near the habitable zone of its low-mass host star. K2-288Bb resides in a system with a unique architecture, as it orbits at >0.1 au from one component in a moderate separation binary ( a proj ∼ 55 au), and further follow-up may provide insight into its formation and evolution. Additionally, its estimated size straddles the observed gap in the planet radius distribution. Planets of this size occur less frequently and may be in a transient phase of radius evolution. K2-288 is the third transiting planet system identified by the Exoplanet Explorers program and its discovery exemplifies the value of citizen science in the era of Kepler , K2 , and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite .
Source: The Astronomical Journal
Authors: Adina D. Feinstein, Joshua E. Schlieder, John H. Livingston, David R. Ciardi, Andrew W. Howard, Lauren Arnold, Geert Barentsen, Makennah Bristow, Jessie L. Christiansen, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Courtney D. Dressing, Erica J. Gonzales, Molly Kosiarek, Chris J. Lintott, Grant Miller, Farisa Y. Morales, Erik A. Petigura, Beverly Thackeray, Joanne Ault, Elisabeth Baeten, Alexander F. Jonkeren, James Langley, Houssen Moshinaly, Kirk Pearson, Christopher Tanner, Joanna Treasure
Institutions: Tufts University, University of Chicago, Goddard Space Flight Center, The University of Tokyo, California Institute of Technology, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, University of the Virgin Islands, Ames Research Center, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Oxford, Moorpark College, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, W. M. Keck Foundation, North Carolina Space Grant, California Institute of Technology, Space Telescope Science Institute, European Space Agency, Science Mission Directorate, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Awards: G2171960263, G433322167, Human-Machine Classification for Astrophysical Projects, THE MULTI-MISSION ARCHIVE AT SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE:, G58316358, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), Constructing Scientific Communities: Citizen Science in the 19th and 21st Centuries, Astrophysics at Oxford 2019-2022, G6273510985, Gradute Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
OpenAlex ID: W2909592084