$\pi$ Earth: a 3.14-day Earth-sized Planet from $\textit{K2}$'s Kitchen Served Warm by the SPECULOOS Team

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and validation of an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting an M3.5 dwarf star with a 3.14-day period, using K2 data and follow-up observations, highlighting its potential for atmospheric studies.

Contribution

First detection of a 3.14-day Earth-sized planet around an M dwarf using K2 data, validated with follow-up spectroscopy and transit observations.

Findings

Planet has a radius of 0.95 R⊕ and orbits at 57 pc.

Orbital period is approximately π days.

Suitable for future atmospheric characterization.

Abstract

We report on the discovery of a transiting Earth-sized (0.95$R_\oplus$) planet around an M3.5 dwarf star at 57$\,$pc, K2-315b. The planet has a period of $\sim$3.14 days, i.e. ${\sim}\pi$, with an instellation of 7.45$\,$S$_{\oplus}$. The detection was made using publicly available data from $\textit{K2}$'s Campaign 15. We observed three additional transits with SPECULOOS Southern and Northern Observatories, and a stellar spectrum from Keck/HIRES, which allowed us to validate the planetary nature of the signal. The confirmed planet is well suited for comparative terrestrial exoplanetology. While exoplanets transiting ultracool dwarfs present the best opportunity for atmospheric studies of terrestrial exoplanets with the $\textit{James Webb Space Telescope}$, those orbiting mid-M dwarfs within 100$\,$pc such as K2-315b will become increasingly accessible with the next generation of observatories.