Confirmed Exoplanet Discovered 2011

Kepler-23 c

A sub-neptune orbiting the g-type yellow (sun-like) Kepler-23, located approximately 2,725.9 light-years from Earth.

Key parameters at a glance

  • A radius of 3.01 Earth radii
  • A mass of 7.81 Earth masses
  • Surface gravity around 0.86 g
  • An orbital period of 10.740 days
  • Semi-major axis 0.0950 AU
  • Equilibrium temperature 1,008 K (735 °C)
  • Distance from Earth 2,725.87 light-years
  • Earth Similarity Index 0.225
  • Travel time at Voyager 1 speed 48,070,685 years

2 siblings around Kepler-23

Kepler-23 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-23 b Super-Earth 1.64 2.56 7.100 1,157 2011
Kepler-23 c this Sub-Neptune 3.01 7.81 10.740 1,008 2011
Kepler-23 d Sub-Neptune 2.21 4.44 15.270 896 2014

Kepler-23 c Planet Profile

Physical Specs

Radius
3.01 R⊕
Radius (Jupiter)
0.268 R♃
Mass
7.81 M⊕
Mass (Jupiter)
0.025 M♃
Density
1.58 g/cm³
Surface Gravity
0.86 g (Earth)

Classification

Planet Type

Sub-Neptune

ESI Score 0.225
HZ Position Inner
Controversial No

Discovery

Year 2011
Method Transit
Facility Kepler
Telescope 0.95 m Kepler Telescope

Size rank in cohort

Rank by radius

#519of 1978

top 26.2%

This planet

3.01R⊕

Sub-Neptune median

2.71R⊕

Nearest-size peers

Metric Earth Kepler-23 c Jupiter
Radius (R⊕)1.003.0111.21
Mass (M⊕)1.007.81317.83
Density (g/cm³)5.511.581.33
Surface Gravity (g)1.000.862.53
Insolation (S⊕)1.00257.390.037

Alternative Mass Estimates

Method Value Interpretation
Best measured mass 7.810 M⊕ Direct mass measurement (not derived).

Star Catalogue Identifiers

TIC

TIC 27083727

Gaia DR2

Gaia DR2 2135019107451751168

Gaia DR3

Gaia DR3 2135019107451751168

System

Kepler-23

Percentile among Sub-Neptune cohort

Radius 3.005 R⊕ · percentile 74 / cohort 1978
Mass 7.810 M⊕ · percentile 53 / cohort 1978
Orbital period 10.74 d · percentile 37 / cohort 1946
Distance 835.76 pc · percentile 68 / cohort 1975
ESI 0.225 · percentile 11 / cohort 1978

Orbit & Habitability

Orbital Dynamics

Period
10.740 days
Semi-major axis
0.0950 AU
Eccentricity
0.021
Inclination
89.86 °

Year Length

A year here lasts approximately 10.74 Earth days (2.9% of a terrestrial year) on a nearly circular orbit at a mean orbital distance of 0.0950 AU.

Transit Fingerprint

Depth

0.042 %

Duration

6.063 h

Impact parameter b

0.000

Rp / R★

0.018486

Transit midpoint (BJD)

2,454,966.2867

Photometric dip

Transit produces a flux drop of 415 ppm lasting ≈ 6.06 h.

Extended Orbital Architecture

Planet / star radius ratio

0.018486

Semi-major axis / stellar radius

13.790

Impact parameter (b)

0.000

Transit mid-time (BJD)

2,454,966.2867

Angular separation (arcsec)

0.11400

Eq. Temperature

1,008K

(735 °C)

Insolation (S⊕)

257.39

Earth = 1.00

Earth Similarity (ESI)

0.225

0 = alien, 1 = Earth-identical

Inside the inner HZ boundary (too hot for liquid water) — the dayside is scorched.

Detection Signatures

Transit photometry

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

Transit timing variations

Gravitational interactions from neighbours have been detected.

Discovery Paper

Primary reference

Ford et al. 2012

Instrument

Kepler CCD Array

Publication

2012-05

Observation locale

Space

Host System: Kepler-23

Spectral Class

G-type yellow (Sun-like)

Effective Temperature

5,828 K — hotter than the Sun (5,778 K)

Estimated Age

9.12 Gyr — older than the Sun (4.6 Gyr)

Stellar Radius

1.548 R☉

Stellar Mass

1.078 M☉

Metallicity [Fe/H]

-0.11

Extended Stellar Properties

Surface gravity (log g)

4.090 dex

Stellar density

0.410 g/cm³

Metallicity ratio

[M/H]

Distance
835.76 parsec
Light-years 2,725.87 ly
V-band magnitude
13.57 mag
Voyager-speed travel 48,070,685 yr

Multi-band Host Photometry — 16 bands

9.514.214.19B13.57V13.40Gaia13.44Kepler12.97TESS13.89Sloan g13.43Sloan r13.24Sloan i13.22Sloan z12.35J12.05H12.00K11.97W112.01W212.13W39.50W4

Astrometric Data

Parallax

1.168 mas

Total Proper Motion

4.466 mas/yr

PM Right Ascension

2.26 mas/yr

PM Declination

3.85 mas/yr

Galactic Cartesian (pc)

x = 0.267 · y = -0.593 · z = 0.760

Equatorial (J2000)

RA 294.21891° · Dec 49.47925°

Galactic ℓ, b

82.014° · 13.458°

Ecliptic λ, β

317.845° · 68.930°

HTM-20 index

275671563

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