Kepler-62e
Artist's conception of an Earth-size planet orbiting within the habitable zone of its parent star. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Borucki et al. |
| Discovery site | Kepler Space Observatory |
| Discovery date | 18 April 2013 |
| Transit (Kepler Mission) | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 0.427 ± 0.004 AU | |
| Eccentricity | ~0 |
| 122.3874 ± 0.0008 d | |
| Inclination | 89.98 ± 0.032 |
| Star | Kepler-62 (KOI-701) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 1.61 ± 0.05 R🜨 | |
| Mass | 4.5+14.2 −2.6 M🜨 |
| Temperature | Teq: 270 K (−3 °C; 26 °F) |
Kepler-62e (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-701.03) is a super-Earth exoplanet (extrasolar planet) discovered orbiting within the habitable zone of Kepler-62, the second outermost of five such planets discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft. Kepler-62e is located about 990 light-years (300 parsecs) from Earth in the constellation of Lyra. The exoplanet was found using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. Kepler-62e may be a terrestrial or ocean-covered planet; it lies in the inner part of its host star's habitable zone.
Kepler-62e orbits its host star every 122 days and is roughly 60 percent larger (in diameter) than Earth.