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Kepler 56b

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Kepler-56b

Kepler-56b (KOI-1241.02) is an Exoplanet located roughly 2,800 light years away. It is slightly smaller than Neptune and orbits its parent star Kepler-56 and was discovered in 2012 by the Kepler Space Telescope.

Planetary Orbit

Kepler-56b is about 0.1082 AU away from its host star. About one-tenth of the distance between Earth to the Sun, making it even closer to its parent star than Mercury and Venus, it takes 10.5 days for it to complete a full orbit around Kepler-56. Further research shows that Kepler-56b's orbit is about 45° misaligned to the host star's equator. Later radial velocity measurements have revealed evidence of a gravitational perturbation but currently it is not clear if it is a nearby star or a third planet (a possible Kepler-56d).

Both Kepler-56b and Kepler-56c will be devoured by their parent star in about 130 and 155 million years. Even further research shows that it will have its atmosphere boiled away by intense heat from the star, and it will be stretched by the strengthening stellar tides.

References

Kepler-56b Wikipedia