Kepler-452b

Kepler-452b (sometimes quoted to be

an Earth 2.0 or Earth's Cousin[3][4]
based on its characteristics; also
known by its Kepler Object of Interest
designation KOI-7016.01) is a super-
Earth exoplanet orbiting within the
inner edge of the habitable zone of
the sun-like star Kepler-452 and is
the only planet in the system
discovered by Kepler. It is located
about 1,800 light-years (550 pc)[5]
from Earth in the constellation of
Cygnus.
 Kepler-452b

Artist's impression of Kepler-452b

(center), depicted here as a rocky planet
in the habitable zone with extensive
cloud cover. The actual appearance of
the exoplanet is unknown.

Discovery

Discovered by Kepler Science

team

Discovery site Kepler

Discovery date 23 July 2015

(announced)

Detection method Transit

 Designations
Alternative names KOI-7016.01

Orbital characteristics
+0.019[1]
Semi-major axis 1.046−0.015 AU

Orbital period +0.007[1]

384.843−0.012 d
(sidereal)
+0.134
Inclination 89.806−0.049

Star Kepler-452

Physical characteristics
+0.32[1]
Mean radius 1.5−0.22 R🜨

Mass 5 ± 2[2] M🜨
+1.5
Surface gravity 1.9−1.0 (est.) g

Temperature Teq: 265 K (−8 °C;

17 °F)[1]
Kepler-452b orbits its star at a
distance of 1.04 AU (156 million km;
97 million mi) from its host star
(nearly the same distance as Earth
from the Sun), with an orbital period
of roughly 385 days, has a mass at
least five times that of Earth, and
has a radius of around 1.5 times that
of Earth. It is the first potentially
rocky super-Earth[5] planet discovered
orbiting within the habitable zone of
a very sunlike star.[6] However, it is
unknown if it is entirely habitable, as
it is receiving slightly more energy
than Earth and could be subjected to
a runaway greenhouse effect.
The Kepler space telescope identified
the exoplanet, and its discovery was
announced by NASA on 23 July
2015.[7] The planet is about 1,800
light-years (550 pc) away from the
Solar System. At the speed of the
New Horizons spacecraft, at about
59,000 km/h (16,000 m/s; 37,000 mph),
it would take approximately 30 million
years to get there.[8]

Physical characteristics

Mass, radius and temperature

 Size comparison between Kepler-452b and
Earth, along with the similarities of their
parent stars.

Kepler-452b has a probable mass five

times that of Earth, and its surface
gravity is nearly twice as much as
Earth's, though calculations of mass
for exoplanets are only rough
estimates.[9] If it is a terrestrial
planet, it is most likely a super-Earth
with many active volcanoes due to its
higher mass and density. The clouds on
the planet would be thick and misty,
covering much of the surface as viewed
from space.

The planet takes 385 Earth days to

orbit its star.[10] Its radius is 50%
larger than Earth's, and lies within
the conservative habitable zone of its
parent star.[9][11] It has an equilibrium
temperature of 265 K (−8 °C; 17 °F),
a little warmer than Earth.

Host star

The host star, Kepler-452, is a G-

type and has about the same mass as
the sun, only 3.7% more massive and
11% larger. It has a surface
temperature of 5757 K, nearly the
same as the Sun, which has a surface
temperature of 5778 K.[12]

The star's age is estimated to be

about 6 billion years old, about 1.5
billion years older than the Sun,
which is estimated to have existed for
4.6 billion years. Kepler-452b has
been in Kepler-452's habitable zone
for most of its existence, a duration
just over six billion years.[13]

From the surface of Kepler-452b, its

star would look almost identical to the
Sun as viewed from the Earth.[14]

The star's apparent magnitude, or how

bright it appears from Earth's
perspective, is 13.426; therefore, it is
too dim to be seen with the naked
eye.

Orbit

Kepler-452b orbits its host star with

an orbital period of 385 days and an
orbital radius of about 1.04 AU, nearly
the same as Earth's (1 AU). Kepler-
452b is most likely not tidally locked
and has a circular orbit. Its host star,
Kepler-452, is about 20% more
luminous than the Sun (L = 1.2 L☉).

Potential habitability

Comparison of Kepler-452b and related

exoplanets with Earth.

It is not known if Kepler-452b is a

rocky planet[3] but based on its small
radius, Kepler-452b is likely to be
rocky.[7] It is not clear if Kepler-452b
offers habitable environments. It
orbits a G2V-type star, like the Sun,
which is 20% more luminous, with
nearly the same temperature and
mass.[10] However, the star is roughly 6
billion years old, making it 1.5 billion
years older than the Sun. At this
point in its star's evolution, Kepler-
452b is currently receiving 10% more
energy from its parent star than
Earth is currently receiving from the
Sun.[6] If Kepler-452b is a rocky
planet, it may be subject to a
runaway greenhouse effect similar to
that seen on Venus.[15]

"Delayed" runaway greenhouse

effect
However, due to the planet Kepler-
452b being 50 percent bigger in terms
of size, it is likely to have an
estimated mass of 5 M🜨, which could
allow it to hold on to any oceans it
may have for a longer period,
preventing Kepler-452b from
succumbing to runaway greenhouse
effect for another 500 million years.[15]
This, in turn, would be accompanied
by the carbonate–silicate cycle being
"buffered", extending its lifetime due
to increased volcanic activity on
Kepler-452b.[16] This could allow any
potential life on the surface to
inhabit the planet for another 500–
900 million years before the habitable
zone is pushed beyond Kepler-452b's
orbit.

Discovery and follow-up

studies
In 2009, NASA's Kepler spacecraft
was observing stars on its photometer,
the instrument it uses to detect
transit events, in which a planet
crosses in front of and dims its host
star for a brief and roughly regular
time. In this last test, Kepler observed
50 000 stars in the Kepler Input
Catalog, including Kepler-452; the
preliminary light curves were sent to
the Kepler science team for analysis,
who chose obvious planetary companions
from the bunch for follow-up by other
telescopes. Observations for the
potential exoplanet candidates took
place between 13 May 2009 and 17
March 2012. Kepler-452b exhibited a
transit that occurred roughly every
385 days, and it was eventually
concluded that a planetary body was
responsible. The discovery was
announced by NASA on 23 July
2015.[7]
At a distance of nearly 1,800 light-
years (550 pc), Kepler-452b is too
remote for current telescopes or the
next generation of planned telescopes
to determine its true mass or whether
it has an atmosphere. The Kepler
spacecraft focused on a single small
region of the sky but next-generation
planet-hunting space telescopes, such
as TESS and CHEOPS, will examine
nearby stars throughout the sky with
follow up studies planned for these
closer exoplanets by the James Webb
Space Telescope and future large
ground-based telescopes to analyze
their atmospheres, determine masses,
and infer compositions.

A study in 2018 by Mullally et al.

claimed that statistically, Kepler-452b
has not been proven to exist and must
still be considered a candidate.[17]

SETI targeting

Scientists with the SETI (Search for

Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute)
have already begun targeting Kepler-
452b, the first near-Earth-size world
found in the habitable zone of a
Sun-like star.[18] SETI Institute
researchers are using the Allen
Telescope Array, a collection of 6-
meter (20 feet) telescopes in the
Cascade Mountains of California, to
scan for radio transmissions from
Kepler-452b. As of July 2015, the
array has scanned the exoplanet on
over 2 billion frequency bands, with
no result. The telescopes will continue
to scan over a total of 9 billion
channels, searching for alien radio
analysis.[18]

Observation and exploration

Kepler-452b is 1,800 light-years (550
parsecs) from Earth. The fastest
current spacecraft, the New Horizons
uncrewed probe that passed Pluto in
July 2015, travels at just 56,628 km/h
(15,730 m/s; 35,187 mph;
0.00037853 AU/h).[4] At that speed, it
would take a spacecraft about 26
million years to reach Kepler-452b
from Earth, if it was going in that
direction.[4]
 Notable Exoplanets – Kepler Space Telescope

Comparison of small planets found by Kepler in the habitable zone of their host stars.

Gallery
 A diagram of the orbit of Kepler-452b within
the Kepler-452 system, as compared to the
inner Solar System and Kepler-186 system, and
their respective projected habitable zones.

See also
List of largest exoplanets
List of potentially habitable
exoplanets
Superhabitable planet
References
1. "NASA Exoplanet Archive – Confirmed
Planet Overview – Kepler-452b" (htt
p://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/c
gi-bin/DisplayOverview/nph-DisplayOv
erview?objname=Kepler-452+b) .
NASA Exoplanet Archive. 2009.
Retrieved 23 July 2009.
2. "NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers
Bigger, Older Cousin to Earth" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20150815125616/
http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?
FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=393) .
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. 23 July 2015. Archived
from the original (http://kepler.nasa.g
ov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNe
ws&NewsID=393) on 15 August 2015.
Retrieved 10 June 2016.
3. Rincon, Paul (23 July 2015). " 'Earth
2.0' found in Nasa Kepler telescope
haul" (https://www.bbc.com/news/scien
ce-environment-33641648) . BBC
News. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
4. Kepler-452b: How long would it take
humans to reach 'Earth 2' and could
we live there? (http://www.express.co.u
k/news/science/594133/Kepler-452b-Ho
w-long-take-humans-reach-Earth-2-c
ould-we-live-there)
5. "The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog –
Planetary Habitability Laboratory @
UPR Arecibo" (https://phl.upr.edu/proj
ects/habitable-exoplanets-catalog) .
upr.edu.
6. Chou, Felicia; Johnson, Michele (23
July 2015). "NASA's Kepler Mission
Discovers Bigger, Older Cousin to
Earth" (http://www.nasa.gov/press-rele
ase/nasa-kepler-mission-discovers-bigg
er-older-cousin-to-earth) (Press
release). NASA. Retrieved 23 July
2015.
7. Jenkins, Jon M.; Twicken, Joseph D.;
Batalha, Natalie M.; et al. (23 July
2015). "Discovery and Validation of
Kepler-452b: A 1.6 R🜨 Super Earth
Exoplanet in the Habitable Zone of a
G2 Star" (http://www.nasa.gov/sites/de
fault/files/atoms/files/ms-r1b.pdf)
(PDF). The Astronomical Journal. 150
(2): 56. arXiv:1507.06723 (https://arxi
v.org/abs/1507.06723) .
Bibcode:2015AJ....150...56J (https://ui.a
dsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AJ....150...56
J) . doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/2/56 (ht
tps://doi.org/10.1088%2F0004-6256%2F15
0%2F2%2F56) . ISSN 1538-3881 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/issn/1538-3881) .
S2CID 26447864 (https://api.semantic
 scholar.org/CorpusID:26447864) .
Retrieved 24 July 2015.
8. "NASA telescope discovers Earth-like
planet in star's 'habitable zone" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2016030404270
6/http://bnonews.com/news/index.php/n
ews/id961) . BNO News. 23 July 2015.
Archived from the original (http://bn
onews.com/news/index.php/news/id961)
on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July
2015.
9. Feltman, Rachel (23 July 2015).
"Scientists discover 12 new potential
Earth-like planets" (https://www.washi
ngtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-scienc
e/wp/2015/07/23/scientists-discover-12-
new-potential-earth-like-planets/) .
The Washington Post. Retrieved
23 July 2015.
10. Overbye, Dennis (23 July 2015).
"Kepler Data Reveals What Might Be
Best 'Goldilocks' Planet Yet" (https://
www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/science/sp
ace/kepler-data-reveals-what-might-b
e-best-goldilocks-planet-yet.html) .
The New York Times. Retrieved
23 July 2015.
11. Witze, Alexandra (23 July 2015).
"NASA spies Earth-sized exoplanet
orbiting Sun-like star" (http://www.n
ature.com/news/nasa-spies-earth-sized
-exoplanet-orbiting-sun-like-star-1.18
048) . Nature. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
12. Fraser Cain (15 September 2008).
"Temperature of the Sun" (http://ww
w.universetoday.com/18092/temperature
-of-the-sun/) . Universe Today.
Retrieved 19 February 2011.
13. Bohan, Elise; Dinwiddie, Robert;
Challoner, Jack; Stuart, Colin;
Harvey, Derek; Wragg-Sykes,
Rebecca; Chrisp, Peter; Hubbard,
Ben; Parker, Phillip; et al. (Writers)
(February 2016). Big History (https://
www.worldcat.org/oclc/940282526) .
Foreword by David Christian (1st
American ed.). New York: DK. p. 77.
ISBN 978-1-4654-5443-0.
OCLC 940282526 (https://www.worldca
t.org/oclc/940282526) .
14. NASA Kepler press conference. 23
July 2015.
15. Lugmayr, Luigi (23 July 2015).
"Kepler-452b details unveiled" (http://
www.i4u.com/2015/07/93538/kepler-452
b-details-unveiled) . I4U News.
Retrieved 23 July 2015.
16. "Is Earth's Closest Cousin A Dying
Planet?" (https://gizmodo.com/is-earth
s-closest-cousin-a-dying-planet-17204
34455) . Gizmodo.com. 30 July 2015.
Retrieved 24 May 2016.
 17. Kepler's Earth-like Planets Should
Not Be Confirmed without Independent
Detection: The Case Of Kepler-452b
Fergal Mullally, Susan E. Thompson,
Jeffrey L. Coughlin, Christopher J.
Burke, and Jason F. Rowe, 2 April
2018. Available at arXiv:1803.11307,
Accessed 3 April 2018.
18. SETI Targets Kepler-452b, Earth's
'Cousin,' in Search for Alien Life (ht
tp://www.space.com/30114-seti-alien-lif
e-kepler-452b-earth-cousin.html)

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media
related to Kepler-452b.
NASA – Mission overview (https://ww
w.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/overv
iew/index.html)
NASA – Kepler Discoveries –
Summary Table (https://web.archive.
org/web/20100527104316/http://kepler.
nasa.gov/Mission/discoveries/)
Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (http
s://phl.upr.edu/projects/habitable-ex
oplanets-catalog) at UPR-Arecibo.
Discovery and Validation of Kepler-
452b: A 1.6-R🜨 Super-Earth
Exoplanet in the Habitable Zone of
a G2 Star (http://www.nasa.gov/site
 s/default/files/atoms/files/ms-r1b.pd
f)

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