Destination 3 - Kepler 7
Kepler-7 is a star located in the constellation Lyra, and was targeted by NASA's Kepler Mission. It hosts Kepler-7b, a Jupiter-sized gas giant with a density as low as styrofoam.
- Type: Sun-like star (similar to the Sun but larger and more massive).
- Mass: 1.347 times the Sun's mass.
- Radius: 1.843 times the Sun's radius (84% wider than the Sun).
- Age: Estimated to be 3.5 billion years old.
- Metallicity: 30% more metal-rich than the Sun ([Fe/H] = 0.11).
- Temperature: 5933 K (slightly hotter than the Sun's 5778 K).
- Apparent Magnitude: 13 (too dim to be seen with the naked eye).
- Distance: Approximately 3,160 light years from the Solar System.
- Planetary System: Home to Kepler-7b, a Jupiter-sized gas giant with an unusually low density.
- Discovery: Kepler-7b was the fourth planet discovered by the Kepler spacecraft.
- Significance: Kepler-7b was announced on January 4, 2010, at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
- Kepler-7b's density is extremely low, making it one of the lightest gas giants ever discovered.
- The discovery was confirmed through observations from observatories in Hawaii, Texas, Arizona, California, and the Canary Islands.