# Kepler-1649b: An Exo-Venus in the Solar Neighborhood

## TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of Kepler-1649b, an Earth-sized exoplanet with a Venus-like incident flux, providing a valuable target for future atmospheric and habitability studies of exoplanets.

## Contribution

The paper presents the discovery and confirmation of Kepler-1649b, a Venus-like exoplanet orbiting a nearby M5V star, and details the methods used for its characterization.

## Key findings

- Kepler-1649b is Earth-sized with Venus-like incident flux.
- The planet orbits a nearby M5V star, making it accessible for follow-up studies.
- The methods include PSF photometry, spectroscopy, and imaging for confirmation.

## Abstract

The Kepler mission has revealed that Earth-sized planets are common, and dozens have been discovered to orbit in or near their host star's habitable zone. A major focus in astronomy is to determine which of these exoplanets are likely to have Earth-like properties that are amenable to follow-up with both ground- and future space-based surveys, with an ultimate goal of probing their atmospheres to look for signs of life. Venus-like atmospheres will be of particular interest in these surveys. While Earth and Venus evolved to have similar sizes and densities, it remains unclear what factors led to the dramatic divergence of their atmospheres. Studying analogs to both Earth and Venus can thus shed light on the limits of habitability and the potential for life on known exoplanets. Here we present the discovery and confirmation of Kepler-1649b, an Earth-sized planet orbiting a nearby M5V star that receives incident flux at a level similar to that of Venus. We present our methods for characterizing the star, using a combination of PSF photometry, ground-based spectroscopy and imaging, to confirm the planetary nature of Kepler-1649b. Planets like Kepler-1649b will be prime candidates for atmospheric and habitability studies in the next generation of space missions.