astronomy

Kepler-5

Kepler-5 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kepler-5 rather than just read about it. In short: Kepler-5 is a star located in the constellation Cygnus in the field of view of the Kepler Mission, a NASA project aimed at detecting planets in transit of, or passing in front of, their host stars as seen from Earth. One closely-orbiting, Jupiter-like planet, named Kepler-5b, has been detected around Kepler-5.

Key takeaways

Kepler-5 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kepler-5 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kepler-5 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kepler-5 is a star located in the constellation Cygnus in the field of view of the Kepler Mission, a NASA project aimed at detecting planets in transit of, or passing in front of, their host stars as seen from Earth. One closely-orbiting, Jupiter-like planet, named Kepler-5b, has been detected around Kepler-5. Kepler-5's planet was one of the first five planets to be discovered by the Kepler spacecraft; its discovery was announced on January 4, 2010 at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society after being verified by a variety of observatories. Kepler-5 is larger and more massive than the Sun, but has a similar metallicity, a major factor in planet formation.

Nomenclature and history Three discoveries made prior to the Kepler mission, which were in Kepler's field of view, were given the Kepler designations 1, 2 and 3. Kepler-5 is actually the second planet-bearing star discovered during the course of the Kepler Mission, a NASA operation that seeks to discover Earth-like planets that transit, or cross in front of, their host stars with respect to Earth. The star's planet, Kepler-5b, was therefore the second of the first five planets to be announced to the public on January 4, 2010 at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C., along with planets around Kepler-4, Kepler-6, Kepler-7, and Kepler-8. Kepler-5b's initial discovery by Kepler was re-examined by scientists at the W.M. Keck Observatory at Mauna Kea, Hawaii; the McDonald Observatory in west Texas; the Palomar and Lick Observatories in California; the MMT, WIYN, and Whipple Observatories in Arizona; and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands.

Characteristics Kepler-5 is a sunlike star that is 1.374 (± 0.056) Msun and 1.793 (± 0.053) Rsun, and is 137% the mass of and 179% the radius of the Sun. The star has a metallicity of [Fe/H] 0.04 (± 0.06), making it approximately as metal-rich as the Sun, therefore increasing the star's likelihood to have planets in orbit. Kepler-5 has an effective temperature of 6297 (± 60) K, which is hotter than the Sun's effective temperature of 5778 K. Kepler-5 has an apparent magnitude of 13.4, and cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Companion stars A recent catalog of companions to Kepler stars determined from high-resolution imaging shows two companions to Kepler-5 at distances of 0.9 and 3.5 arc seconds. Whether these stars are physically bound to Kepler-5 or merely chance alignments of unrelated stars is unknown however recent studies have shown that 60 to 80% of companions within 1 arc second of Kepler stars are true binaries.

Planetary system

Kepler-5b is 2.111 MJ and 1.426 RJ. It is, thus, more than twice the mass of Jupiter, and slightly less than three halves of Jupiter's radius. Kepler-5b orbits its star every 3.5485 days, lying at approximately 0.0538 AU from Kepler-5. It is, thus, a Hot Jupiter, or a gas giant that orbits near to its host star. To compare, Mercury orbits the sun at .3871 AU every 87.97 days. The planet's eccentricity is assumed to be 0, which is the eccentricity for a circular orbit.

See also List of extrasolar planets Kepler Mission

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kepler-5

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kepler-5 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kepler-5 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kepler-5 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kepler-5

In research: Kepler-5 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kepler-5 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kepler-5 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cygnus (constellation), F-type subgiants, Kepler objects of interest, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kepler-5 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kepler-5 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kepler-5 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kepler-5 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kepler-5 in simple terms?

Why does Kepler-5 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kepler-5?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kepler-5.