Kepler discovers multiple planets orbiting a pair of stars

This discovery proves that more than one planet can form and persist in the stressful realm of a binary star.

By NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. — Published: August 29, 2012

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-47, the first transiting circumbinary system. // Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

NASA's Kepler mission has discovered multiple transiting planets orbiting two suns for the first time. The system, known as a circumbinary planetary system, is 4,900 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus.

Coming less than a year after the announcement of the first circumbinary planet, Kepler-16b, this discovery proves that more than one planet can form and persist in the stressful realm of a binary star. The discovery demonstrates the diversity of planetary systems in our galaxy.

Astronomers detected two planets in the Kepler-47 system, a pair of orbiting stars that eclipse each other every 7.5 days from our vantage point on Earth. One star is similar to the Sun in size, but only 84 percent as bright. The second star is diminutive, measuring only one-third the size of the Sun and less than 1 percent as bright.

This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-47, a double-star system containing two planets, one orbiting in the so-called "habitable zone." // Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

"In contrast to a single planet orbiting a single star, the planet in a circumbinary system must transit a 'moving target.' As a consequence, time intervals between the transits and their durations can vary substantially, sometimes short, other times long," said Jerome Orosz from San Diego State University in California. "The intervals were the telltale sign these planets are in circumbinary orbits."

The inner planet, Kepler-47b, orbits the pair of stars in less than 50 days. While it cannot be directly viewed, it is thought to be a sweltering world where the destruction of methane in its super-heated atmosphere might lead to a thick haze that could blanket the planet. At three times the radius of Earth, Kepler-47b is the smallest-known transiting circumbinary planet.

The outer planet, Kepler-47c, orbits its host pair every 303 days, placing it in the so-called "habitable zone," the region in a planetary system where liquid water might exist on the surface of a planet. While not a world hospitable for life, Kepler-47c is thought to be a gaseous giant slightly larger than Neptune where an atmosphere of thick bright water-vapor clouds might exist.

Kepler-47b has three times the radius of Earth and orbits the pair of stars in less than 50 days while Kepler-47c is thought to be a gaseous giant, slightly larger than Neptune with an orbital period of 303 days. // Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

"Unlike our Sun, many stars are part of multiple-star systems where two or more stars orbit one another. The question always has been: Do they have planets and planetary systems? This Kepler discovery proves that they do," said William Borucki from NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. "In our search for habitable planets, we have found more opportunities for life to exist."

To search for transiting planets, the research team used data from the Kepler space telescope, which measures dips in the brightness of more than 150,000 stars. Additional ground-based spectroscopic observations using telescopes at the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin helped characterize the stellar properties.

"The presence of a full-fledged circumbinary planetary system orbiting Kepler-47 is an amazing discovery," said Greg Laughlin from the University of California, Santa Cruz. "These planets are very difficult to form using the currently accepted paradigm, and I believe that theorists, myself included, will be going back to the drawing board to try to improve our understanding of how planets are assembled in dusty circumbinary disks."

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SAM NAUMAN from TEXAS said:

To answer how life would be if we lived on a planet of a circumbinary system.. Well when we wake up in the morning (or is that mornings?) we would wonder if the sun is up yet but then which sun the big one or the small one. Our year would be confusing as we would have two different suns to take into account. The seasons would also be all confusing. Then would we have a proper night? It might not be dark enough for the chicken to roost.
Compared with the problems we would have, jet lag woud be a piece of cake.
Thank goodness we only have one beautiful sun.

Submitted: 9/7/2012 12:17:58 PM (CST)

MARK STUBERG from CALIFORNIA said:

I apologize,but feel as I've no choice but to use this platform for an off-topic question. A question I asked the staff and readers to help me answer a month ago. Once again-I've been monitoring the waning moon for the past 3 months.What I've seen each of those months is what appears to be a portion of the bottom point of the waning crescent missing,or perhaps shadowed by something else.I am also questioning whether the moon is of the usual allignment we are so used to seeing. It looks as if it has possibly tilted or even turned a substantial number of degrees.Has anyone else noted these anomalies,or have any feedback on te moons current status ?Once again,any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou, M Stuberg

Submitted: 9/1/2012 7:33:20 AM (CST)

GEORGE STACEY said:

Really interesting article. I love how astronomy keeps finding stuff that "probably can't exist."

Submitted: 8/31/2012 1:14:58 PM (CST)

GARTH HAVER from GEORGIA said:

wow.I am a relative newcomer to astronomy.But seeing pics like that taken from the mars rover and hearing about finding new star systems and planets gets me excited.Also as a sci-fi fan,my mind starts racing with the possibiltys of what life is like on another planet.

Submitted: 8/31/2012 4:05:17 AM (CST)

MR ANDREW KRZYWDZINSKI said:

It would be interesting to find out if Kepler-47c has any sizable moons such as Titan or Europa. Were there any studies done on the feasibility of life on such moons? I can see some problems from being in such proximity to a giant planet, as well as the unstable orbit around the stars, but in theory, being already in a habitable zone would be a great start.

Submitted: 8/30/2012 2:08:19 PM (CST)

DENNIS SPITLER from OHIO said:

Do we have sufficient data to indicate that the systems are stable or will it take a longer time to calculate the intricate orbits to determine the details of long term viability.

Submitted: 8/30/2012 4:02:31 AM (CST)