Confirmed Exoplanet Discovered 2014

Kepler-226 c

A sub-neptune orbiting the g-type yellow (sun-like) Kepler-226, located approximately 3,196.8 light-years from Earth.

Key parameters at a glance

  • A radius of 2.27 Earth radii
  • A mass of 45.20 Earth masses
  • Surface gravity around 8.77 g
  • An orbital period of 5.350 days
  • Semi-major axis 0.0580 AU
  • Equilibrium temperature 919 K (646 °C)
  • Distance from Earth 3,196.78 light-years
  • Earth Similarity Index 0.220
  • Travel time at Voyager 1 speed 56,375,193 years

2 siblings around Kepler-226

Kepler-226 c shares its host star with 2 other confirmed planets. Side-by-side measurements below.

Planet Type Radius (R⊕) Mass (M⊕) Period (d) Eq. T (K) Year
Kepler-226 b Super-Earth 1.55 24.00 3.941 1,018 2014
Kepler-226 c this Sub-Neptune 2.27 45.20 5.350 919 2014
Kepler-226 d Rocky Terrestrial 1.22 1.98 8.109 800 2014

Kepler-226 c Planet Profile

Physical Specs

Radius
2.27 R⊕
Radius (Jupiter)
0.203 R♃
Mass
45.20 M⊕
Mass (Jupiter)
0.142 M♃
Density
21.20 g/cm³
Surface Gravity
8.77 g (Earth)

Classification

Planet Type

Sub-Neptune

ESI Score 0.220
HZ Position Inner
Controversial No

Discovery

Year 2014
Method Transit
Facility Kepler
Telescope 0.95 m Kepler Telescope

Size rank in cohort

Rank by radius

#1554of 1978

top 78.5%

This planet

2.27R⊕

Sub-Neptune median

2.71R⊕

Nearest-size peers

Metric Earth Kepler-226 c Jupiter
Radius (R⊕)1.002.2711.21
Mass (M⊕)1.0045.20317.83
Density (g/cm³)5.5121.201.33
Surface Gravity (g)1.008.772.53
Insolation (S⊕)1.00180.510.037

Alternative Mass Estimates

Method Value Interpretation
Best measured mass 45.200 M⊕ Direct mass measurement (not derived).

Star Catalogue Identifiers

TIC

TIC 63204017

Gaia DR2

Gaia DR2 2128504397979254528

Gaia DR3

Gaia DR3 2128504397979254528

System

Kepler-226

Percentile among Sub-Neptune cohort

Radius 2.270 R⊕ · percentile 21 / cohort 1978
Mass 45.200 M⊕ · percentile 98 / cohort 1978
Orbital period 5.35 d · percentile 14 / cohort 1946
Distance 980.14 pc · percentile 77 / cohort 1975
ESI 0.220 · percentile 10 / cohort 1978

Orbit & Habitability

Orbital Dynamics

Period
5.350 days
Semi-major axis
0.0580 AU
Eccentricity
0.000
Inclination
89.62 °

Year Length

A year here lasts approximately 5.35 Earth days (1.5% of a terrestrial year) on a nearly circular orbit at a mean orbital distance of 0.0580 AU.

Transit Fingerprint

Depth

0.083 %

Duration

3.051 h

Impact parameter b

0.250

Rp / R★

0.025706

Transit midpoint (BJD)

2,455,004.8060

Photometric dip

Transit produces a flux drop of 831 ppm lasting ≈ 3.05 h.

Extended Orbital Architecture

Planet / star radius ratio

0.025706

Semi-major axis / stellar radius

13.802

Impact parameter (b)

0.250

Transit mid-time (BJD)

2,455,004.8060

Angular separation (arcsec)

0.05920

Eq. Temperature

919K

(646 °C)

Insolation (S⊕)

180.51

Earth = 1.00

Earth Similarity (ESI)

0.220

0 = alien, 1 = Earth-identical

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

Discovery Paper

Primary reference

Rowe et al. 2014

Instrument

Kepler CCD Array

Publication

2014-03

Observation locale

Space

Host System: Kepler-226

Spectral Class

G-type yellow (Sun-like)

Effective Temperature

5,571 K — cooler than the Sun (5,778 K)

Estimated Age

4.17 Gyr — younger than the Sun (4.6 Gyr)

Stellar Radius

0.802 R☉

Stellar Mass

0.904 M☉

Metallicity [Fe/H]

0.09

Extended Stellar Properties

Surface gravity (log g)

4.586 dex

Stellar density

1.430 g/cm³

Metallicity ratio

[Fe/H]

Distance
980.14 parsec
Light-years 3,196.78 ly
V-band magnitude
15.56 mag
Voyager-speed travel 56,375,193 yr

Multi-band Host Photometry — 16 bands

9.416.716.69B15.56V15.40Gaia15.42Kepler14.87TESS15.99Sloan g15.36Sloan r15.17Sloan i15.09Sloan z14.11J13.72H13.63K13.64W113.68W212.92W39.39W4

Astrometric Data

Parallax

0.992 mas

Total Proper Motion

10.217 mas/yr

PM Right Ascension

-6.26 mas/yr

PM Declination

-8.07 mas/yr

Galactic Cartesian (pc)

x = 0.255 · y = -0.620 · z = 0.742

Equatorial (J2000)

RA 292.37609° · Dec 47.88096°

Galactic ℓ, b

79.988° · 13.859°

Ecliptic λ, β

312.980° · 68.008°

HTM-20 index

-603487203

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