Journal Article

Kepler-16: A Transiting Circumbinary Planet

Winn, Joshua N., Ford, Eric B., Borucki, William J., Tang, Sumin, Middour, Christopher K., Furesz, Gabor, Dunham, Edward W., Howell, Steve B., Fischer, Debra, Prsa, Andrej, Holman, Matthew J., Orosz, Jerome A., Still, Martin, Fortney, Jonathan J., Latham, David, Brown, Warren R., Calkins, Michael L., Koch, David, McCauliff, Sean, Ragozzine, Darin, Carter, Joshua A., Jenkins, Jon M., Short, Donald R., Lissauer, Jack J., Marcy, Geoffrey W., Buzasi, Derek, Quintana, Elisa V., Sasselov, Dimitar, Fanelli, Michael N., Esquerdo, Gilbert A., Berlind, Perry, Shporer, Avi, Steffen, Jason H., Cochran, William D., Slawson, Robert W., Quinn, Samuel N., Geary, John C., Doyle, Laurance R., Boss, Alan, Welsh, William F., Rucker, Michael, Batalha, Natalie, Haas, Michael R., Hall, Jennifer R., Fabrycky, Daniel C., Caldwell, Douglas A., Buchhave, Lars A., Stefanik, Robert P., Torres, Guillermo

2011

Overview

We report the detection of a planet whose orbit surrounds a pair of low-mass stars. Data from the Kepler spacecraft reveal transits of the planet across both stars, in addition to the mutual eclipses of the stars, giving precise constraints on the absolute dimensions of all three bodies. The planet is comparable to Saturn in mass and size and is on a nearly circular 229-day orbit around its two parent stars. The eclipsing stars are 20 and 69% as massive as the Sun and have an eccentric 41-day orbit. The motions of all three bodies are confined to within 0.5° of a single plane, suggesting that the planet formed within a circumbinary disk.

• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science,The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subject: Astronomical transits / Astronomy / Average linear density / B stars / detection / Disks / Double stars / Earth, ocean, space / Eccentrics / Eclipses / Exact sciences and technology / Extrasolar planetary systems / Keplerian orbits / mass / Orbits / Parents / Photometric and spectroscopic detection ; coronographic detection ; interferometric detection / Planetary orbits / Planets / Scientific Concepts / Spacecraft / Stars / Stars & galaxies / Stellar orbits / Terrestrial planets / Transits