Discovery of new free-floating planet candidates with K2 Campaign 9

Iain Mcdonald  ✧  The University of Manchester, UK

The abundance of free-floating planets (FFPs) and their mass distribution is a key indicator of both star- and planet-formation processes. Here, I present our first steps towards a new estimation of these parameters with K2 Campaign 9, which observed the Galactic Bulge every 30 minutes for two months in 2016. I report on the discovery of five planet candidates (companion talks will discuss how we are confirming their planetary nature), describe their implications for the FFP abundance and mass distribution, and look ahead to future missions.