An introductory talk on NASA's Kepler and K2 missions, presented in August 2017.
How to find a planet?(Not what the actual data look like)@GeertHubwww.geert.io github.com/barentsen Geert Barentsen
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Are we alone?
Image: NASA
Detecting Planet Transits
Jupiter EarthSmall planets are really hard to find
Jupiter Neptune2 x Earth EarthSmall planets are really hard to find
*•need to look at the right place• at the right time•and measure the brightness of stars• with extreme accuracy
NASA’s Kepler Mission“Are Earth-like planets common?”
*Kepler was launched on 6 March2009Attached to a big telescope100 megapixel camera (100 deg2) Makes movies of stars!The Kepler Spacecraft
*March 6, 2009
*The Kepler Field of View
• So what does the data look like?
Exoplanet Detections, 1989-1995Radius Relative to EarthOrbital Period in daysEarth
Radius Relative to EarthOrbital Period in daysEarthJupiterExoplanet Detections, 1989-1995
Radius Relative to EarthOrbital Period in daysExoplanet Detections, 1995-2009
Radius Relative to EarthOrbital Period in daysEarthExoplanet Detections, 1995-2013
Too big!Just right.Too small!
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2009-2013Kepler observed 200,000 stars over 4 years,finding 4,496 candidate planets
And then it BROKE
Balancing Solar Pressure
Kepler now changes its pointing every 3 monthseclipticThis is called the K2 Mission
The Pleiades
Photometry of the Seven Sisters
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