Confirmed Exoplanet Discovered 2018

K2-222 b

A sub-neptune orbiting the g-type yellow (sun-like) K2-222, located approximately 330.5 light-years from Earth.

Key parameters at a glance

  • A radius of 2.28 Earth radii
  • A mass of 7.50 Earth masses
  • Surface gravity around 1.45 g
  • An orbital period of 15.389 days
  • Semi-major axis 0.1186 AU
  • Equilibrium temperature 803 K (530 °C)
  • Distance from Earth 330.46 light-years
  • Earth Similarity Index 0.340
  • Travel time at Voyager 1 speed 5,827,741 years

K2-222 b Planet Profile

Physical Specs

Radius
2.28 R⊕
Radius (Jupiter)
0.203 R♃
Mass
7.50 M⊕
Mass (Jupiter)
0.024 M♃
Density
3.72 g/cm³
Surface Gravity
1.45 g (Earth)

Classification

Planet Type

Sub-Neptune

ESI Score 0.340
HZ Position Inner
Controversial No

Discovery

Year 2018
Method Transit
Facility K2
Telescope 0.95 m Kepler Telescope

Size rank in cohort

Rank by radius

#1550of 1978

top 78.3%

This planet

2.28R⊕

Sub-Neptune median

2.71R⊕

Nearest-size peers

Metric Earth K2-222 b Jupiter
Radius (R⊕)1.002.2811.21
Mass (M⊕)1.007.50317.83
Density (g/cm³)5.513.721.33
Surface Gravity (g)1.001.452.53
Insolation (S⊕)1.0095.000.037

Alternative Mass Estimates

Method Value Interpretation
Best measured mass 7.500 M⊕ Direct mass measurement (not derived).

Star Catalogue Identifiers

TIC

TIC 257774438

Gaia DR2

Gaia DR2 2584093844170270720

Gaia DR3

Gaia DR3 2584093844170270720

System

K2-222

Percentile among Sub-Neptune cohort

Radius 2.275 R⊕ · percentile 22 / cohort 1978
Mass 7.500 M⊕ · percentile 48 / cohort 1978
Orbital period 15.39 d · percentile 51 / cohort 1946
Distance 101.32 pc · percentile 20 / cohort 1975
ESI 0.340 · percentile 38 / cohort 1978

Orbit & Habitability

Orbital Dynamics

Period
15.389 days
Semi-major axis
0.1186 AU
Eccentricity
0.021
Inclination
88.91 °

Year Length

A year here lasts approximately 15.39 Earth days (4.2% of a terrestrial year) on a nearly circular orbit at a mean orbital distance of 0.1186 AU.

Transit Fingerprint

Depth

0.037 %

Duration

4.382 h

Impact parameter b

0.451

Rp / R★

0.019500

Transit midpoint (BJD)

2,459,491.9547

Photometric dip

Transit produces a flux drop of 372 ppm lasting ≈ 4.38 h.

Extended Orbital Architecture

Planet / star radius ratio

0.019500

Semi-major axis / stellar radius

24.000

Impact parameter (b)

0.451

RV semi-amplitude (K)

2.010 m/s

Transit mid-time (BJD)

2,459,491.9547

Angular separation (arcsec)

1.17000

Eq. Temperature

803K

(530 °C)

Insolation (S⊕)

95.00

Earth = 1.00

Earth Similarity (ESI)

0.340

0 = alien, 1 = Earth-identical

Inside the inner HZ boundary (too hot for liquid water) — the surface is too hot to retain surface water.

Detection Signatures

Transit photometry

A transit dip has been observed from at least one telescope.

Radial velocity

Stellar wobble has been measured spectroscopically.

Discovery Paper

Primary reference

Mayo et al. 2018

Instrument

Kepler CCD Array

Publication

2018-03

Observation locale

Space

Host System: K2-222

Spectral Class

G-type yellow (Sun-like)

Effective Temperature

5,942 K — hotter than the Sun (5,778 K)

Estimated Age

7.10 Gyr — older than the Sun (4.6 Gyr)

Stellar Radius

1.072 R☉

Stellar Mass

0.940 M☉

Metallicity [Fe/H]

-0.32

Extended Stellar Properties

Surface gravity (log g)

4.350 dex

Stellar density

1.071 g/cm³

Systemic radial velocity

1.48 km/s

Rotational v·sin i

3.10 km/s

Activity index (log R'HK)

-5.128

Metallicity ratio

[Fe/H]

Distance
101.32 parsec
Light-years 330.46 ly
V-band magnitude
9.54 mag
Voyager-speed travel 5,827,741 yr

Multi-band Host Photometry — 12 bands

7.910.010.04B9.54V9.36Gaia9.44Kepler8.97TESS8.42J8.17H8.11K8.05W18.10W28.07W37.92W4

Astrometric Data

Parallax

9.841 mas

Total Proper Motion

86.964 mas/yr

PM Right Ascension

55.30 mas/yr

PM Declination

67.12 mas/yr

Galactic Cartesian (pc)

x = 0.939 · y = 0.277 · z = 0.204

Equatorial (J2000)

RA 16.46252° · Dec 11.75372°

Galactic ℓ, b

128.538° · -50.961°

Ecliptic λ, β

19.664° · 4.389°

HTM-20 index

1677731310

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