INTEGRATIVE ACTIVITY

Mara Cristina Pea Fuentes #35

Leslie Villanueva #46
Dana Moreas #27
Samanta Servn #41
Manuel Ziga #49

KEPLER 186-F
Kepler-186f is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf Kepler-186,
about 490 light-years from the Earth. It is the first planet with a
radius similar to Earth's to be discovered in the habitable zone of
another star. NASA's Kepler spacecraft detected it using the transit
method, along with four additional planets orbiting much closer to
the star (all modestly larger than Earth). Analysis of three years of
data was required to find its signal.

Mass, density and composition

There is a very wide range of possible masses that can be
calculated by combining the radius with densities derived from
the possible types of matter that planets can be made from; it
could be a rocky terrestrial planet or a lower density ocean
planet with a thick atmosphere.
Red dwarfs emit a much stronger extreme ultraviolet (XUV)
flux when young than later in life; the planet's primordial
atmosphere would have been subjected to elevated
photoevaporation during that period, which would probably
have largely removed any H/He-rich envelope through
hydrodynamic mass loss.

Orbital parameters relative to habitable zone

Kepler-186f orbits an M-dwarf star with about 4% of the Sun's
luminosity with an orbital period of 129.9 days and an orbital radius
of about 0.36 or 0.40 times that of Earth's (compared to 0.39 AU for
Mercury). The habitable zone for this system is estimated
conservatively to extend over distances receiving from 88% to 25% of
Earth's illumination (from 0.22 to 0.40 AU). Kepler-186f receives
about 32%, placing it within the conservative zone but near the
outer edge, similar to the position of Mars in our Solar System.

Comparison with Earth

Kepler-186f orbits an M-dwarf star, while
Kepler-62f orbits a Sun-like star. A study of
atmospheric evolution in Earth-size planets
in habitable zones of G-Stars (a class
containing the Sun, but not Kepler-186)
suggested that 0.81.15 R is the size range
for planets small enough to lose their initial
accreted hydrogen envelope but large
enough to retain an outgassed secondary
atmosphere such as Earth's.