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Kepler-16b News Conference Digital Press Kit
09.15.11
 
Kepler-16 planetary system Click image for multiple resolutions and full caption.
Image: In the Light of Two Suns - This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars -- what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

Kepler-16 planetary system Click image for multiple resolutions and full caption.
Image: Where the Sun Sets Twice - NASA's Kepler mission has discovered a world where two suns set over the horizon instead of just one. The planet, called Kepler-16b, is the most "Tatooine-like" planet yet found in our galaxy and is depicted here in this artist's concept with its two stars. Tatooine is the name of Luke Skywalker's home world in the science fiction movie Star Wars. In this case, the planet it not thought to be habitable. It is a cold world, with a gaseous surface, but like Tatooine, it circles two stars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt

Three eclipsing bodies Click image for video page with download capability.
Animation: Three Eclipsing Bodies - This artist's movie illustrates Kepler-16b, the first directly detected circumbinary planet, which is a planet that orbits two stars. The movie begins by showing the gaseous surface of the rotating planet then pans out to show the stars it orbits.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

A Dance of Two Suns and One Planet Click image for video page with download capability.
Animation: A Dance of Two Suns and One Planet - This artist's animation illustrates the Kepler-16 system from an overhead view, showing the eccentric orbits of the two stars as they twirl around each other every 41 days like figure skaters. The planet, which was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission, orbits in a circle around both of the stars every 229 days. The larger of the stars is about 69 percent of the mass of the sun, and the smaller is about 20 percent of the sun's mass. The planet is about the mass of Saturn. All three bodies orbit in the same plane, which is why Kepler can observe the various planetary and stellar eclipses.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle


 Greetings,

Thank you for your interest in the Kepler-16b news conference on Sept. 15, 2011, at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. The NASA Public Affairs contact for this event is Michele Johnson. If you’d like to interview any of the speakers, please email her or find her at the media registration area.

Please wear your media badge at all times to indicate that you are active media. We’d appreciate it if you’d return the badge before you leave.
Thank you.
 
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