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What is significant about the planet Kepler-16b?
Kepler-16b was the Kepler telescope’s first discovery of a planet in a “circumbinary” orbit– circling two stars, as opposed to one star in a double-star system. Like Luke Skywalker’s home planet Tatooine, Kepler-16b would have two sunsets if you could stand on its surface.
Is there life on Kepler-16b?
The planet, called Kepler-16b, is the most “Tatooine-like” planet yet found in our galaxy. In this case, the planet is not thought to be habitable. It is a cold world, with a gaseous surface, but like Tatooine, it circles two stars.
How cold is Kepler-16b?
Both stars are smaller and cooler than our Sun. As a result, Kepler-16b is quite cold, with a surface temperature of around -100 to – 150° Fahrenheit. NASA’s Kepler mission detected the planet through what is known as a planetary transit – an event where a star dims when a planet crosses in front of it.
Does Kepler-16b have moons?
With the new study, “we can say there are exomoons possible around Kepler-16b, and what’s important about this is that they are detectable down to 0.2 Earth masses,” Quarles said.
Is Kepler-16b a gas giant?
Kepler-16b is a gas giant, an exoplanet that is near the same mass and radius as the planets Jupiter and Saturn. It has a temperature of 188 K (−85 °C; −121 °F). The planet has a radius of 0.77 R J, slightly smaller than Saturn, and has no solid surface.
How long is a Kepler-16b day?
Kepler-16
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | -0.3 (± 0.2) dex |
| Rotation | 35.1 ± 1.0 days |
| Kepler-16B | |
| Mass | 0.20255 (± 0.00065) M ☉ |
Does Tatooine exist?
Tatooine (/ˌtætuˈiːn/) is a fictional desert planet that appears in the Star Wars space-opera franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms.
Who discovered Kepler-16b?
Laurance Doyle
Kepler-16b/Discoverers
When was the Kepler-16b discovered?
September 15, 2011
Kepler-16b/Discovered
Who discovered Kepler 16B?
What system is Kepler 16B in?
Kepler-16B is a member of a binary star system named Kepler 16. This planet is treated to two different sunsets every evening. It is not habitable as we know it. Kepler 16B is an exoplanet that orbits in the system of two stars in the Cygnus Constellation.
Is bespin possible?
The short answer is yes; you could mine the entire planet. As gas is mined, the mass and radius of Bespin would gradually decrease as to approximately maintain the planet’s density. During this reduction in the planet’s size, the pull of gravity would become weaker and weaker.