KOI-4878.01
KOI-4878.01 is an exoplanet candidate that orbits the G-type main-sequence star KOI-4878. It is distant from Earth. The features of the planet are very similar to that of Earth, and if it is confirmed, it would be one of the most Earth-like planets found. The orbital period of the exoplanet is around 449 days. It is located within the habitable zone of its parent star – a region where water can exist at liquid state.
Host star
KOI-4878 is a G-type main-sequence star, more precisely of spectral class G4V. It has an apparent magnitude of 12.37 and is located in the constellation of Draco. The star has a mass of, a radius of and an effective temperature of. Its age is estimated at billion years, older than the Solar System.Exoplanet detection
An analysis of the Kepler space telescope's data from its first to the twelve quarter revealed three possible transit events equally spaced in time. A post-analysis in the Sixteen quarter showed that the events happened within a period of 449 days, they had a duration of 12 and half hours and a transit depth of 94 ppm.Characteristics
KOI-4878.01 has a slightly larger radius than Earth: 1.02 Earth radii. Its mass has not been measured, and is estimated to be somewhere between 0.4 - 3.0 Earth masses; likely about 0.99 Earth masses. The planet has an equilibrium temperature of, compared to the of Earth.The host star's age of billion years suggest the planet had more time for life to evolve than Earth did. As of such, some astronomers speculate that it may be more suitable for intelligent life than Earth.
| Property | Based on KIC data | Based on new data |
| Period | 449.015±0.021 | 449.015±0.021 |
| Semimajor Axis | 1.137 +0.053/-0.040 | 1.125 |
| Planet Radius | 1.04 +0.38/-0.14 | 1.05 |
| Seff | 1.05 | 0.92 |