The impending demise of Kepler-1658b as it orbits its aging star offers an opportunity for scientists to gain insight into the fate of other planets and their evolving solar systems. Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery of an exoplanet whose orbit is deteriorating as it orbits an agin
Ashley Chontos, Princeton’s Henry Norris Russell Postdoctoral Fellow in Astrophysics, was part of a team discovering that Kepler-1658b is spiraling to its doom around its aging star, providing a chance to learn more about the fate of other worlds as their solar systems evolve. Chontos also led 2019 effort to confirm that this object was an exoplanet, not the false positive it had believed to be for a decade.
Ashley Chontos, Princeton’s Henry Norris Russell Postdoctoral Fellow in Astrophysics, was part of a team discovering that Kepler-1658b is spiraling to its doom around its aging star, providing a chance to learn more about the fate of other worlds as their solar systems evolve. Credit: Stephanie Reif, Princeton University Department of Astrophysical Sciences
The ill-fated exoplanet is designated Kepler-1658b. As its name indicates, astronomers discovered it with the Kepler space telescope, a pioneering planet-hunting mission that launched in 2009. This world was the very first new exoplanet candidate Kepler ever observed, at which point it was dubbed KOI 4.01 — the 4th Object of Interest identified by Kepler.
Detecting this decline required many years of careful observation. The watch started with Kepler and then was picked up by the Palomar Observatory’s Hale Telescope in Southern California and finally the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Telescope, or, which launched in 2018. All three instruments captured transits, the term for when an exoplanet crosses the face of its star and causes a very slight dimming of the star’s brightness.
Chontos, who came to Princeton only a few months ago, said that she is looking forward to discussing her findings with the theorists and other astrophysicists here.
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