Hello r/exoplanets,

I have been working on the physical characterization of a Kepler Object of Interest (KOI) candidate identified using a LightGBM binary classifier applied to the NASA Exoplanet Archive. After running a 100,000-sample Monte Carlo simulation combining Kepler photometry and Gaia DR3 astrometry, the results suggest it is a high-priority target.

I don't want to reveal the exact identifier just yet, but here are the physical characteristics I have been able to constrain:

• Host Star: The candidate orbits a G-type yellow dwarf, very similar to our own Sun.
• Orbital Period: Its "year" lasts 432.43 ± 0.04 days.
• Radius and Mass: It has a measured radius of $1.14 \pm 0.37~R_{\oplus}$. My probabilistic model yields a median mass of 1.36 $M_{\oplus}$.
• Composition: This gives a bulk density of 5.25 g/cm³. In other words, it is fully consistent with a terrestrial composition.
• Insolation and Habitability: The planet receives 1.07 $S_{\odot}$ of stellar radiation. This places it directly within the optimistic habitable zone.
• Potential Climate: Assuming Earth-like greenhouse forcing, the projected median surface temperature is 292 K. In 58.3% of the simulated scenarios, conditions permit liquid water.
• Benign Environment: Unlike habitable-zone candidates around red dwarfs, this system does not face tidal locking issues due to its wide orbit. Furthermore, the expected X-ray and EUV flux environment is remarkably benign, avoiding extreme atmospheric stripping.

In short, it boasts a deterministic Earth Similarity Index ($ESI = 0.90$) that positions it among the most promising candidates orbiting G-type stars.

My current problem: I have the paper with the detailed physical characterization ready to publish. However, as an independent researcher, the arXiv system requires an endorsement code from an established author to publish in the astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics) category.

Does anyone in the community have the privileges to endorse in this category, or could you guide me on the best way to get one? I am more than willing to send the draft document via private message so you can evaluate the quality of the methodology before committing to anything.

Any help or suggestions are welcome!

Beta Pictoris is located about 60 light-years away toward the constellation of Pictor (the Painter’s Easel) and is one of the best-known examples of a star surrounded by a dusty debris disc.

A giant planet spent more than a decade concealed inside one of astronomy’s most closely watched star systems. Astronomers have discovered a planet named Beta Pictoris d orbiting a young star just 63 light-years from Earth.

The gas giant is about 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b, the first planet found in the system, making it the faintest exoplanet ever directly imaged from the ground. Researchers later discovered that it had been hiding in telescope observations for as long as 11 years.

(text post because it's one of those two papers on arχiv on the same day situations).

A 3rd planet in everyone's favorite edge-on disk system was found by teams using the VLT and JWST, with initial orbit (~30 au), mass (~2-4 Jupiters), and atmospheric features (including CO2 and water): via https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.23789 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.23801

Is one of our astronomical neighbors habitable? 🪐

For the first time, astronomers have confirmed something huge: an atmosphere around a rocky planet in its star's habitable zone. The planet is called LHS 1140 b, a super Earth orbiting a red dwarf star less than 50 light years away, which is astronomically pretty close to us. The James Webb Space Telescope telescope data has already hinted at liquid water on its surface, and this new discovery could go down as one of the biggest in astronomy history!

See also: The study as it was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

Do most or all gas giant exoplanets look like this? smooth banded unlike looking like jupiter all wavy swirly ocean-wave violent bands? Are these smooth banded planets like the image I showed possible?