Kepler-186f

_______________________________________________________________________________________


i recommend downloadng to see all detail. also, large file size, sorry if it takes long.

__________________________________________________________________________________________


hi! started this one as soon as the planet was announced! you may have heard of it on the internet or the news recently. the planet is kepler-186f, the first terran class planet confirmed in its star's habitable zone. went for realsistic textures on this one. came out ok, spent about 6 hours working the planet alone and roughly 8 hours total on the work. see the description below for more info. data was taken from the Planetary Habitability Laboratory and Wikipedia.

you can find it here:
phl.upr.edu/press-releases/fir…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-1…


so please let your eyes enjoy and leave any comments, favs or critiques which are always welcome and appreciated!
________________________________________________________________________________________


Kepler-186f

constellation: ................... Cygnus
distance from earth: .......... 492.3 ly
star's name: ..................... Kepler-186
star's type: ....................... M1V
star's mass: ...................... 0.48 solar masses
star's radius: ..................... 0.47 solar radii
star's luminosity: .............. 0.04115 solar luminosities
star's temperature: ........... 3788 Kelvin
system's name: ................. Kepler-186
# stars in system: .............. 1
# planets in system: .......... 5
system's age: ..................... 4 billion years

planet's status: ................. confirmed
planet's name: .................. Kepler-186f
habitability class: .............. M - Warm Terran
thermal class: .................... Psychro Planet
earth similarity index: ....... 0.64

planet's radius: ................ 1.11 earth radii
planet's mass: .................. 1.23 earth masses
planet's density: ............... 0.899 earth densities = 4.96 g/cc
surface gravity: ................ 0.998 earth gravity
rotation period: ................ 50/50 chance of being tidally locked.
atm. comp.: ...................... unknown, is not likely to have a high concentration of hydrogen and helium.
atm. pressure: .................. unknown, may be lower than earth's due to its predicted cold surface temperature.
average eq. temp: ............. 192 Kelvin = -81 Celsius
average surface temp: ....... unknown, may be 227 Kelvin = -46 Celsius assuming a similar green house effect to earth.
# satellites: ....................... unknown, is unlikely to have any

orbital eccentricity: ............ <0.34, may be near circular.
orbital distance: ................. 0.136 au
year: .................................. 129.9 earth days
place in system: ................. near the outer edge of the conservative habitable zone.



Description

Kepler-186f is the fifth and outermost planet known to orbit around the red dwarf star Kepler-186. This planet is unique as it holds the title of being the first terran class (earth sized) planet to be confirmed within it's star's habitable zone (HZ). The HZ is the distance range from a star where liquid water may existed on a planet's or moon's surface given the right conditions. The planet was discovered indirectly by the now disabled kepler Space Telescope which measures the dip in star light as a planet moves in front of or transits a star. The telescope observed more than enough transits of the planet to confirm it's existance.

The planet has a radius just 10% greater than earth's and so, is almost undoubtably a rocky planet with a solid surface and not a gaseous planet with a large hydrogen and helium envolope. Due to the size of the planet, it is highly likely to have a compostion and internal structure very similar to earth's being 1/3 iron and 2/3 silicates. It may also have a higher concentration of lighter elements and volatiles than earth. This would give the planet a mass just less than 1 and a 1/4 times that of earth. this also gives the planet a surface gravity almost the same as earth's, and so it would be very easy for a human or any earthly creature to move on this planet almost as if they were on earth.

Kepler-186f is located near it's star's tidal locking radius and so there is a 50/50 chance that it may not be tidally locked to the star and so, have a rotaion period. This would increase the planet's habitability further as it would give it a day-night cycle. however, such a rotation period is likely to have been slowed down greatly by the star due to tidal deceleration, and so the planet may have a day lasting a few days, weeks or months. Also, the planet's axial tilt is likely to be very small due to similar reasons affecting its rotation period. The orbital eccentricity of the planet is also likely to be very low giving the planet a near circular orbit, again due to tidal deceleration. These factors combined may rule out the planet having any seasons, either tilt induced or orbit induced. As such, weather on this planet may be stable and calm giving a clear sky most of the time, which could allow for viewing of the parent star and inner four planets during the day, and a clear starry night sky laced with aurorae at the higher latitudes, assuming the planet has a strong magnetic field like earth's. 
During the day, everything would be tinted with a deep sunset orange from the parent star due to it's smaller size and lower temperature to our sun. Due to the colour of the star, plant life on the planet may utilize the longer wavelengths of light coming from the star which would be the majority of light emitted by the star. This may cause plants on the planet to appear dark and red/ brown in colouration to the human eye as they would photosynthesize using the redder light.

The planet orbits near the outer edge of the star's conservative HZ and recieves a stellar flux from it's star slightly less than the planet Mars does from our sun. Because of this, the surface of the planet is likely to be very cold at sub-zero temperatures, and any water on it's surface may be locked up as large ice caps, glaciers or permafrost under the planet's surface. If the planet has large concentrations of ammonia in its water, this could act as an anti-freeze and greately lower the freezing point of the water, keeping it liquid. A large concentration of carbon dioxide or methane in the atmosphere, if any atmosphere, or a denser atmosphere may also induce a much stronger green house effect and warm the surface greatly, melting any frozen water.

The planet is unlikely to have any moons due to its proximity to its star, which could disrupt the orbits of any moons, and the possibility that the planet is tidally locked or has a slow rotation period, would cause any moons to spiral into the planet due to orbital decay from tidal decelaration.

On another note, planetary formation simulations and dynamical models of this planetary system show that a non-transiting low-mass planet may be located between the orbits of planet e and f and so may also be located within the star's habitable zone near the inner edge. If indeed this planet exists, it's gravitational effects can increase the axial tilt of planet f and induce seasons on the planet, further increasing planet f's habitability. This possible planet must also not be much more massive than earth or else it would cause orbital instability within the system. So this planet itself may also be a habitable rocky planet as well, similar to earth.
____________________________________________________________________________________________


This Artwork is ­­© 2014 Alpha-Element. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE THIS ARTWORK!