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Distance from star icon. Brown background. Shows a a star and the orbit the planet takes around the star.

Task 2: Calculating the Average Distance from Kepler 452b to its Star

Scientists work hard to get unedited data like this: Kepler 452 Light-Curve Graph. Flux on the y axis and time in days on the x axis. Shows un-edited data, lines and clustes of black Into a form that’s easier to read like this: Kepler 452 Light-Curve Graph. Shows Flux on y axis and time in days on the x axis. There are dots all around the same Flux value of 1.00000 and a red line at 315 days. Can you identify the signature “bucket” shape of a transiting planet around the red line in the graph above? Check the image below for an example of the “bucket” shape.

Normalized Flux: the percentage of the star's light detected by sensors. at 1: Maximum - The planet is not blocking any of the star's light at 0.995: Midtransit halfway point of the transit Normalized Flux at 0.99: Minimum - the entire planet is blocking the star's light Brightness= 1 means that 100% of the star's light is detected. .99 means that 99% of the star's light is detected.
image of a scientist
As you may remember from the light curve video, we need “periodic and consistent dips in the light curve” to study our planet. Simply observing one transit is not enough because it could be an outlier. The more transits we observe, the more accurate our scientific findings will be.
Kepler 452 Light-Curve This is a graph of the same star taken over several years</b> during the Kepler mission. Each red line indicates a mid transit point.
This is a graph of the same star taken over several years during the Kepler mission. Each red line indicates a mid-transit point.

Using the multi-transit graph above, follow the same steps we used in the practice to find the period of your planet and distance from its star.

Input the values for each transit in cells B2, B3, B4, and B5 of the Google Sheet. The period of the planet will be calculated automatically in cell B6 in units of Earth years.

  You will share the planet period with the following team:

If the Mass team has already requested the planet period, send it in the chat now. If the Mass team has not yet sent a request, be prepared to send the information when the request arrives.

Planet Mass Planet Radius Planet Period Host Star Data Planet Volume Star Radius & Mass Planet Density Distance From Star Planet Composition In The Habitable Zone? Could This Planet Support Life?
Receive Mass of Star from Host Star Team
image of a scientist
Now that we have the period, we are ready to calculate the distance of the exoplanet from its host star using Kepler’s Third Law. We will use the following variables:
star mass icon. Orange background. A see-saw like image with a large star on one side and a smaller planet on the other side pointing to the star.
planet period icon. Pink background showing the planet's period with curves.
Kepler's third law equation pointing to the mass of the star. The average distance from the plaent to the star to the third power equals the mass of the star multiplied by the period of the planet squared.
First, check in with the Host Star team to get the mass of the star Kepler 452. Send the following message in the chat.
"Period team to Host Star team. The Period team requests the star mass from the Host Star team in order to proceed."
image for instructions for sending messages in the chat feature in Zoom. 1. Copy and paste the message from your task card to the chat. 2. Hit enter to send the message. 3. Unmute yoursself and read the message out loud to ensure that it is received. Make sure the message is being send to 'everyone'
Wait here until you receive the star mass.

While you wait... did you know?

Images of Johanes Kepler Kepler Space Telescope. While you wait, did you know... See a resemblance? In 2009 scientists launched the Kepler Space Telescope, named after the famous astronomer Johanes Kepler. To date, the Kepler telescope has discovered more than 2,000 confirmed exoplanets. Way to go Kepler!
Once you receive the star mass, send the following message to the Host Star team.

“Period team to Host Star team. Data received. Thank you.”

Then, input the value you received for star mass in cell B3 of the Google Sheet below. Kepler 452b’s distance from its host star will be calculated automatically in units of AU in cell B4 of the Google Sheet.
Planet Mass Planet Radius Planet Period Host Star Data Planet Volume Star Radius & Mass Planet Density Distance From Star Planet Composition In The Habitable Zone? Could This Planet Support Life?
image of a scientist
Great work! Now that we have the distance of the planet, Kepler 452b, from its star, Kepler 452, it is time to determine if the planet is in the habitable zone.