EPJ Web of Conferences (Jan 2015)
KOI-3158: The oldest known system of terrestrial-size planets
- Campante T. L.,
- Barclay T.,
- Swift J. J.,
- Huber D.,
- Adibekyan V. Zh.,
- Cochran W.,
- Burke C. J.,
- Isaacson H.,
- Quintana E. V.,
- Davies G. R.,
- Silva Aguirre V.,
- Ragozzine D.,
- Riddle R.,
- Baranec C.,
- Basu S.,
- Chaplin W. J.,
- Christensen-Dalsgaard J.,
- Metcalfe T. S.,
- Bedding T. R.,
- Handberg R.,
- Stello D.,
- Brewer J. M.,
- Hekker S.,
- Karoff C.,
- Kolbl R.,
- Law N. M.,
- Lundkvist M.,
- Miglio A.,
- Rowe J. F.,
- Santos N. C.,
- Van Laerhoven C.,
- Arentoft T.,
- Elsworth Y. P.,
- Fischer D. A.,
- Kawaler S. D.,
- Kjeldsen H.,
- Lund M. N.,
- Marcy G. W.,
- Sousa S. G.,
- Sozzetti A.,
- White T. R.
Affiliations
- Campante T. L.
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard
- Barclay T.
- Swift J. J.
- Department of Astronomy and Department of Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology
- Huber D.
- Adibekyan V. Zh.
- Cochran W.
- Department of Astronomy and McDonald Observatory, The University of Texas at Austin
- Burke C. J.
- Isaacson H.
- Astronomy Department, University of California
- Quintana E. V.
- Davies G. R.
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard
- Silva Aguirre V.
- Stellar Astrophysics Centre (SAC), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
- Ragozzine D.
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard
- Riddle R.
- Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
- Baranec C.
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
- Basu S.
- Department of Astronomy, Yale University
- Chaplin W. J.
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard
- Christensen-Dalsgaard J.
- Stellar Astrophysics Centre (SAC), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
- Metcalfe T. S.
- Bedding T. R.
- Handberg R.
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard
- Stello D.
- Brewer J. M.
- Department of Physics, Yale University
- Hekker S.
- Karoff C.
- Kolbl R.
- Astronomy Department, University of California
- Law N. M.
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lundkvist M.
- Stellar Astrophysics Centre (SAC), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
- Miglio A.
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard
- Rowe J. F.
- Santos N. C.
- Van Laerhoven C.
- Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, 1629 E University Blvd.
- Arentoft T.
- Stellar Astrophysics Centre (SAC), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
- Elsworth Y. P.
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard
- Fischer D. A.
- Department of Physics, Yale University
- Kawaler S. D.
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University
- Kjeldsen H.
- Stellar Astrophysics Centre (SAC), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
- Lund M. N.
- Stellar Astrophysics Centre (SAC), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
- Marcy G. W.
- Astronomy Department, University of California
- Sousa S. G.
- Sozzetti A.
- INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20
- White T. R.
- Institut furAstrophysik,Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201510102004
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 101
p. 02004
Abstract
The first discoveries of exoplanets around Sun-like stars have fueled efforts to find ever smaller worlds evocative of Earth and other terrestrial planets in the Solar System. While gas-giant planets appear to form preferentially around metal-rich stars, small planets (with radii less than four Earth radii) can form under a wide range of metallicities. This implies that small, including Earth-size, planets may have readily formed at earlier epochs in the Universe’s history when metals were far less abundant. We report Kepler spacecraft observations of KOI-3158, a metal-poor Sun-like star from the old population of the Galactic thick disk, which hosts five planets with sizes between Mercury and Venus. We used asteroseismology to directly measure a precise age of 11.2 ± 1.0 Gyr for the host star, indicating that KOI-3158 formed when the Universe was less than 20 % of its current age and making it the oldest known system of terrestrial-size planets. We thus show that Earth-size planets have formed throughout most of the Universe’s 13.8-billion-year history, providing scope for the existence of ancient life in the Galaxy.
