Kepler 35 Planet System Illustration (1 of 3) (IMAGE)
Caption
This is an artist's rendition of the Kepler-35 planet system, in which a Saturn-size planet orbits a pair of stars. The larger star is similar to the size of the Sun, while the smaller star is 79 percent of the Sun's radius. The stars orbit and eclipse each other every 21 days, but the eclipses do not occur exactly periodically. This variation in the times of the eclipses motivated the search for the planet, which was discovered to transit the stars as it orbits the pair every 131 days. Analogous events led to the discovery of the planet Kepler-34. The discovery of these two new systems establishes a new class of 'circumbinary' planets, and suggests there are many millions of such giant planets in our Galaxy.
Credit
Illustration by Lynette Cook
Usage Restrictions
Media organizations may use this artwork in association with news coverage of the Kepler-34 and Kepler-35 discovery. The artists retain copyright.
License
Licensed content