Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc
We present the discovery from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data of LTT 1445Ab. At a distance of 6.9 pc, it is the second nearest transiting exoplanet system found to date, and the closest one known for which the primary is an M dwarf. The host stellar system consists of three mid-to-...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Astronomical Society
2020
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124706 |
| _version_ | 1826196084169375744 |
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| author | Ricker, George R. Vanderspek, Roland K. Seager, Sara Burke, Chris |
| author2 | MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research |
| author_facet | MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Ricker, George R. Vanderspek, Roland K. Seager, Sara Burke, Chris |
| author_sort | Ricker, George R. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | We present the discovery from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data of LTT 1445Ab. At a distance of 6.9 pc, it is the second nearest transiting exoplanet system found to date, and the closest one known for which the primary is an M dwarf. The host stellar system consists of three mid-to-late M dwarfs in a hierarchical configuration, which are blended in one TESS pixel. We use MEarth data and results from the Science Processing Operations Center data validation report to determine that the planet transits the primary star in the system. The planet has a radius of [astronomical figure], an orbital period of [astronomical figure] days, and an equilibrium temperature of [astronomical figure] K. With radial velocities from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, we place a 3σ upper mass limit of 8.4 ${M}_{\oplus }$ on the planet. LTT 1445Ab provides one of the best opportunities to date for the spectroscopic study of the atmosphere of a terrestrial world. We also present a detailed characterization of the host stellar system. We use high-resolution spectroscopy and imaging to rule out the presence of any other close stellar or brown dwarf companions. Nineteen years of photometric monitoring of A and BC indicate a moderate amount of variability, in agreement with that observed in the TESS light-curve data. We derive a preliminary astrometric orbit for the BC pair that reveals an edge-on and eccentric configuration. The presence of a transiting planet in this system hints that the entire system may be co-planar, implying that the system may have formed from the early fragmentation of an individual protostellar core. ©2019 |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:20:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/124706 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:20:36Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | American Astronomical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1247062022-09-30T20:31:49Z Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc Ricker, George R. Vanderspek, Roland K. Seager, Sara Burke, Chris MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research We present the discovery from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data of LTT 1445Ab. At a distance of 6.9 pc, it is the second nearest transiting exoplanet system found to date, and the closest one known for which the primary is an M dwarf. The host stellar system consists of three mid-to-late M dwarfs in a hierarchical configuration, which are blended in one TESS pixel. We use MEarth data and results from the Science Processing Operations Center data validation report to determine that the planet transits the primary star in the system. The planet has a radius of [astronomical figure], an orbital period of [astronomical figure] days, and an equilibrium temperature of [astronomical figure] K. With radial velocities from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, we place a 3σ upper mass limit of 8.4 ${M}_{\oplus }$ on the planet. LTT 1445Ab provides one of the best opportunities to date for the spectroscopic study of the atmosphere of a terrestrial world. We also present a detailed characterization of the host stellar system. We use high-resolution spectroscopy and imaging to rule out the presence of any other close stellar or brown dwarf companions. Nineteen years of photometric monitoring of A and BC indicate a moderate amount of variability, in agreement with that observed in the TESS light-curve data. We derive a preliminary astrometric orbit for the BC pair that reveals an edge-on and eccentric configuration. The presence of a transiting planet in this system hints that the entire system may be co-planar, implying that the system may have formed from the early fragmentation of an individual protostellar core. ©2019 National Science Foundation (grant no. AST-0807690) National Science Foundation (grant no. AST-1109468) National Science Foundation (grant no. AST-1004488 (Alan T. Waterman Award)) National Science Foundation (grant no. AST-1616624) 2020-04-17T02:00:46Z 2020-04-17T02:00:46Z 2019-10 2019-03 2020-04-09T15:47:39Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1538-3881 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124706 Winters, Jennifer G., et al., "Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc." Astronomical journal 158, 4 (October 2019): no. 152 doi 10.3847/1538-3881/AB364D ©2019 Author(s) en 10.3847/1538-3881/AB364D Astronomical journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society |
| spellingShingle | Ricker, George R. Vanderspek, Roland K. Seager, Sara Burke, Chris Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc |
| title | Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc |
| title_full | Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc |
| title_fullStr | Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc |
| title_full_unstemmed | Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc |
| title_short | Three red suns in the sky: a transiting, terrestrial planet in a triple m-dwarf system at 6.9 pc |
| title_sort | three red suns in the sky a transiting terrestrial planet in a triple m dwarf system at 6 9 pc |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124706 |
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