The Ice-Locked Oceans and Silicate Mantle of Kepler-62f
Discovered by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope in 2013, the exoplanet Kepler-62f represents one of the most geophysically compelling targets within the catalog of confirmed Super-Earths . Located approximately 990 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra , this distant body orbits Kepler-62 , a K-type dwarf star characterized by a lower mass, radius, and temperature than our Sun. With a physical radius measured at 1.41 times that of Earth, Kepler-62f sits precisely in the transition zone where planetary dynamics shift from purely terrestrial rocky surfaces to volatile-rich envelopes. Its structural properties make it a premier laboratory for understanding the thermodynamic evolution of massive rocky bodies outside our solar system. Orbital Mechanics and Stellar Radiative Forcing Kepler-62f occupies the outermost position of its five-planet system, revolving around its host star at an average semi-major axis of approximately 0.718 astronom...