NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

[From the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics]

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has spotted a planet that alternately runs late and early in its orbit because a second, "invisible" world is tugging on it. This is the first definite detection of a previously unknown planet using this method. No other technique could have found the unseen companion.

"This invisible planet makes itself known by its influence on the planet we can see," said astronomer Sarah Ballard of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). Ballard is lead author on the study, which has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.

"It's like having someone play a prank on you by ringing your doorbell and running away. You know someone was there, even if you don’t see them when you get outside," she added.

Read the entire press release

A depiction of the Kepler-19 system
Image credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)