What, no mention of who the amateur planet hunters were?! The discoverers were from Australia, participating in an online planet hunting survey as part of the ABC's (Australian Broadcasting Commission) Stargazing Live show with Prof. Brian Cox and host Ms. Julia Zemiro.
(Abstract)Using spectroscopic radial velocities with the APOGEE instrument and Gaia distance estimates, we demonstrate that Kepler-503b, currently considered a validated Kepler planet, is in fact a brown-dwarf/low-mass star in a nearly circular 7.2-day orbit around a subgiant star. Using a mass estimate for the primary star derived from stellar models, we derive a companion mass and radius of 0.075±0.003 M⊙ (78.6±3.1 MJup) and 0.099+0.006−0.004 R⊙ (0.96+0.06−0.04 RJup), respectively. Assuming the system is coeval, the evolutionary state of the primary indicates the age is ∼6.7 Gyr. Kepler-503b sits right at the hydrogen burning mass limit, straddling the boundary between brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars. More precise radial velocities and secondary eclipse spectroscopy with James Webb Space Telescope will provide improved measurements of the physical parameters and age of this important system to better constrain and understand the physics of these objects and their spectra. This system emphasizes the value of radial velocity observations to distinguish a genuine planet from astrophysical false positives, and is the first result from the SDSS-IV monitoring of Kepler planet candidates with the multi-object APOGEE instrument.
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of Oviedo present today the discovery of two new planetary systems, one of them hosting three planets with the same size of the Earth. The information about these new exoplanets has been obtained from the data collected by the K2 mission of NASA's Kepler satellite, which started in November 2013.
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has paused science observations upon receiving indications that the spacecraft may be finally running out of fuel after more than nine years of operations.In a status update distributed July 6, NASA said mission managers halted a current set of observations known as Campaign 18 and placed the spacecraft into a “no-fuel-use safe mode” July 2 after receiving indications of what the agency called an “anomalous” drop in fuel pressure in the spacecraft.That safe mode, mission officials said, will preserve the 51 days of “flawless” observations collected during Campaign 18. The spacecraft will remain in that safe mode until Aug. 2, when it will resume operations for a previously scheduled downlink of data through the Deep Space Network.
In a statement, NASA said it will provide an update on the status of Kepler after the downlink of Campaign 18 observations in early August. The mission is, for now, planning to start Campaign 19 Aug. 6 while also continuing preparations for Campaign 20, which would begin in mid-October. The mission will continue even after the end of spacecraft operations in order to fund analysis of the data collected to date.
Kepler in safe mode amid concerns spacecraft is running out of fuel
Kepler in safe mode amid concerns spacecraft is running out of fuelQuoteNASA’s Kepler spacecraft has paused science observations upon receiving indications that the spacecraft may be finally running out of fuel after more than nine years of operations.In a status update distributed July 6, NASA said mission managers halted a current set of observations known as Campaign 18 and placed the spacecraft into a “no-fuel-use safe mode” July 2 after receiving indications of what the agency called an “anomalous” drop in fuel pressure in the spacecraft.That safe mode, mission officials said, will preserve the 51 days of “flawless” observations collected during Campaign 18. The spacecraft will remain in that safe mode until Aug. 2, when it will resume operations for a previously scheduled downlink of data through the Deep Space Network.http://spacenews.com/kepler-in-safe-mode-amid-concerns-spacecraft-is-running-out-of-fuel/
are expected to come to an end in the coming weeks when each exhausts their remaining hydrazine fuel.<snip>The failure of two of Kepler’s four reaction wheels in 2013 forced engineers to devise an alternate control mechanism using the spacecraft’s thrusters.<snip>In a Sept. 28 statement, NASA said it had again put Kepler into safe mode because of problems pointing the spacecraft precisely. The spacecraft will transmit the data it collected in Campaign 19 back to Earth Oct. 10, assuming it has enough hydrazine on board to carry out that work.“Due to uncertainties about the remaining available fuel, there is no guarantee that NASA will be able to download the science data,” NASA said in the statement. “If successful the Kepler team will attempt to start the next observing campaign with the remaining fuel.”When Kepler does run out of fuel, it will drift in its orbit around the sun harmlessly.