Destination 2 - Kepler 16
Kepler-16 is an eclipsing binary star system located in the constellation of Cygnus, observed by the Kepler spacecraft. Both stars are smaller than the Sun, with Kepler-16A being a K-type main-sequence star, and Kepler-16B an M-type red dwarf.
- Type: Eclipsing binary star system.
- Primary Star (Kepler-16A): K-type main-sequence star.
- Secondary Star (Kepler-16B): M-type red dwarf.
- Separation: The two stars are separated by 0.22 AU.
- Orbital Period: The stars orbit their common center of mass every 41 days.
- Planet: Hosts one known Saturn-sized exoplanet, Kepler-16b, in a circumbinary orbit.
- Eclipses: The system is nearly edge-on to Earth, leading to mutual eclipses between the stars.
- Primary star is partially eclipsed by the secondary star for 6 hours, with a brightness drop of 0.15 magnitudes.
- Secondary star is completely occulted by the primary star for 2 hours, causing a smaller brightness drop of 0.02 magnitudes.
- Exoplanet Kepler-16b causes shallow eclipses, reducing brightness by more than the secondary eclipse when transiting the primary star.
- When Kepler-16b transits the secondary star, brightness decreases by 0.001 magnitudes.