astronomy

Kepler-62b

Kepler-62b 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-62b rather than just read about it. In short: Kepler-62b (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-701.02) is the innermost and the second smallest discovered exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-62, with a diameter roughly 30% larger than Earth. It was found using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured.

Key takeaways

Kepler-62b 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-62b to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kepler-62b from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kepler-62b (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-701.02) is the innermost and the second smallest discovered exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-62, with a diameter roughly 30% larger than Earth. It was found using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. It is likely to have an equilibrium temperature slightly higher than the surface temperature of Venus (around 750 K (477 °C; 890 °F)), high enough to melt some types of metal. Its stellar flux is 70 ± 9 times Earth's.

Physical characteristics

Mass, radius and temperature Kepler-62b is a super-Earth, an exoplanet with a radius and mass bigger than Earth but smaller than that of the ice giants Neptune and Uranus. It has an equilibrium temperature of 750 K (477 °C; 890 °F). This is hot enough to melt some types of metal. It has a radius of 1.3 R🜨, placing it below the estimated radius of ≤1.6 R🜨 where it would otherwise be a mini-Neptune with a volatile composition, with no solid surface. However, the mass is currently not known, estimates place an upper limit of <9 M🜨, the actual mass is expected to be significantly lower than this.

Host star

The planet orbits a (K-type) star named Kepler-62, orbited by a total of five planets, of which Kepler-62f has the lengthiest orbital period. The star has a mass of 0.69 M☉ and a radius of 0.64 R☉. It has a temperature of 4925 K and is 7 billion years old. In comparison, the Sun is 4.6 billion years old and has a surface temperature of 5778 K. The star's apparent magnitude, or how bright it appears from Earth's perspective, is 13.65. Therefore, it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye.

Orbit Kepler-62b orbits its host star with an orbital period of 5 days at a distance of about 0.05 AU (compared to the same distance as Mercury from the Sun, which is about 0.38 AU). It receives 70 times as much sunlight than Earth does from the Sun.

Discovery In 2009, NASA's Kepler spacecraft was completing observing stars on its photometer, the instrument it uses to detect transit events, in which a planet crosses in front of and dims its host star for a brief and roughly regular period of time. In this last test, Kepler observed 50000 stars in the Kepler Input Catalog, including Kepler-62; the preliminary light curves were sent to the Kepler science team for analysis, who chose obvious planetary companions from the bunch for follow-up at observatories. Observations for the potential exoplanet candidates took place between 13 May 2009 and 17 March 2012. After observing the respective transits, which for Kepler-62b occurred roughly every 5 days (its orbital period), it was eventually concluded that a planetary body was responsible for the periodic 5-day transits. The discovery, along with the planetary system of the star Kepler-69 were announced on April 18, 2013.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kepler-62b

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kepler-62b 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-62b 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-62b 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-62b

In research: Kepler-62b 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-62b 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-62b is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope, Exoplanets discovered in 2013, Kepler-62, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kepler-62b 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-62b in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kepler-62b 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-62b out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kepler-62b in simple terms?

Why does Kepler-62b 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-62b?

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-62b.