First Transit Timing Variation, or TTV Planet

[Wanderlust]

The world Kepler-19c, seen in the foreground of this artist’s conception, was discovered solely through its gravitational influence on the companion world Kepler-19b (the dot crossing the star’s face). Kepler-19b is slightly more than twice the diameter of Earth, and is probably a “mini-Neptune.” Nothing is known about Kepler-19c, other than that it exists.

http://www.space.com/12879-stealth-alien-planet-kepler-transit-timing-variation.html

http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/nasakeplernews/index.cfm?fuseaction=ShowNews&NewsID=148
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NASA's Kepler space telescope detected both alien planets, which are known as Kepler-19b and Kepler-19c. Kepler spotted 19b as it passed in front of, or transited, its host star. Researchers then inferred the existence of 19c after observing that 19b's transits periodically came a little later or earlier than expected. The gravity of 19c tugs on 19b, changing its orbit.

The discovery of Kepler-19c marks the first time this method — known as transit timing variation, or TTV — has robustly found an exoplanet, researchers said. But it almost certainly won't be the last.

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This is the first time an exosolar planet has been discovered by the observed effects on a known planet. The planet detected would not have been detected otherwise because it does not transit the star from our view.

Both worlds orbit the Sun-like star Kepler-19, which is located 650 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. The first planet orbits the star at a distance of 8.4 million miles, where it is heated to a temperature of about 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Kepler-19b has a diameter of 18,000 miles, making it slightly more than twice the size of Earth. Kepler-19b, transits its star every 9 days and 7 hours.

 

[Talosian]

It's still mysterious to me what the composition of these super-Earth's and mini-Neptunes is like. Is a planet halfway in mass between our smallest gaseous planet and our largest rocky one (our own) either a gas giant or rocky world? Or is it some gelatinous intermediate state?

 

[YellowSubmarine]

New extrasolar planet: Neptune discovered... again

OK, so this is the second time we do that. Cool.

Neptune was the first planet (and as of few days ago – the only one) that was discovered by mathematical calculations on the orbital perturbations of another planet.

It seems that somebody just did it again. So far extrasolar planets have been discovered mostly by observing the star's wobble. Well, it's just much more fun to do it by observing the wobble of another planet, isn't it? The other planet has been going back and forth, slowing down, speeding up, slowing down and speeding up. Now, planets don't usually do that, not unless somebody is helping them, so there you have it – another planet!

http://news.discovery.com/space/kepler-discovers-phantom-menace-110909.html

So:
1. First extrasolar planet discovered by another planet's orbit “wobble”
2. Second planet discovered by observing orbital perturbations of another (it seems that Pluto has been disqualified on one account of forged credentials, one account of falsifying evidence, and is still being sued by Planet X for identity theft)

 

[Wanderlust]

Re: New extrasolar planet: Neptune discovered... again

Already made thread about this on Sep 8.

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=147509

This is the first time an exosolar planet has been discovered by the observed effects on a known planet. The planet detected would not have been detected otherwise because it does not transit the star from our view.

Both worlds orbit the Sun-like star Kepler-19, which is located 650 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. The first planet orbits the star at a distance of 8.4 million miles, where it is heated to a temperature of about 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Kepler-19b has a diameter of 18,000 miles, making it slightly more than twice the size of Earth. Kepler-19b, transits its star every 9 days and 7 hours.

Lovely discovery.

 

[RoJoHen]

gelatinous intermediate state?

Jell-O planets?! Awesome.