Key parameters at a glance
- A radius of 2.61 Earth radii
- A mass of 7.32 Earth masses
- Surface gravity around 1.07 g
- An orbital period of 8.204 days
- Semi-major axis 0.0750 AU
- Equilibrium temperature 742 K (469 °C)
- Distance from Earth 1,957.72 light-years
- Earth Similarity Index 0.336
- Travel time at Voyager 1 speed 34,524,426 years
- Almost certainly tidally locked to its host star given the close orbit
1 sibling around Kepler-242
Kepler-242 b shares its host star with 1 other confirmed planet. Side-by-side measurements below.
| Planet | Type | Radius (R⊕) | Mass (M⊕) | Period (d) | Eq. T (K) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kepler-242 b this | Sub-Neptune | 2.61 | 7.32 | 8.204 | 742 | 2014 |
| Kepler-242 c | Sub-Neptune | 2.00 | 4.66 | 14.496 | 613 | 2014 |
Kepler-242 b Planet Profile
Physical Specs
Classification
Planet Type
Sub-Neptune
Discovery
Size rank in cohort
Rank by radius
#999of 1978
top 50.5%
This planet
2.61R⊕
Sub-Neptune median
2.71R⊕
Nearest-size peers
| Metric | Earth | Kepler-242 b | Jupiter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radius (R⊕) | 1.00 | 2.61 | 11.21 |
| Mass (M⊕) | 1.00 | 7.32 | 317.83 |
| Density (g/cm³) | 5.51 | 2.26 | 1.33 |
| Surface Gravity (g) | 1.00 | 1.07 | 2.53 |
| Insolation (S⊕) | 1.00 | 43.77 | 0.037 |
Star Catalogue Identifiers
TIC
TIC 120899945
Gaia DR2
Gaia DR2 2103934504985435904
Gaia DR3
Gaia DR3 2103934504985435904
System
Kepler-242
Percentile among Sub-Neptune cohort
Orbit & Habitability
Orbital Dynamics
Year Length
A year here lasts approximately 8.20 Earth days (2.2% of a terrestrial year) on a nearly circular orbit at a mean orbital distance of 0.0750 AU.
Transit Fingerprint
Depth
0.108 %
Duration
2.740 h
Impact parameter b
0.060
Rp / R★
0.028010
Transit midpoint (BJD)
2,455,002.6912
Photometric dip
Transit produces a flux drop of 1,078 ppm lasting ≈ 2.74 h.
Extended Orbital Architecture
Planet / star radius ratio
0.028010
Semi-major axis / stellar radius
23.100
Impact parameter (b)
0.060
Transit mid-time (BJD)
2,455,002.6912
Angular separation (arcsec)
0.12500
Eq. Temperature
742K
(469 °C)
Insolation (S⊕)
43.77
Earth = 1.00
Earth Similarity (ESI)
0.336
0 = alien, 1 = Earth-identical
Inside the inner HZ boundary (too hot for liquid water) — the surface is too hot to retain surface water. Close-orbiting tidally-locked around a cool host.
Discovery Paper
Primary reference
Rowe et al. 2014Instrument
Kepler CCD Array
Publication
2014-03
Observation locale
Space
Discovery cohort
Planets confirmed in 2014 at Kepler (12 shown).
Host System: Kepler-242
Spectral Class
K-type orange
Effective Temperature
5,020 K — cooler than the Sun (5,778 K)
Estimated Age
2.69 Gyr — younger than the Sun (4.6 Gyr)
Stellar Radius
0.850 R☉
Stellar Mass
0.748 M☉
Metallicity [Fe/H]
-0.02
Extended Stellar Properties
Surface gravity (log g)
4.492 dex
Stellar density
2.170 g/cm³
Metallicity ratio
[Fe/H]
Multi-band Host Photometry — 16 bands
Astrometric Data
Parallax
1.638 mas
Total Proper Motion
2.205 mas/yr
PM Right Ascension
1.26 mas/yr
PM Declination
-1.81 mas/yr
Galactic Cartesian (pc)
x = 0.213 · y = -0.714 · z = 0.667
Equatorial (J2000)
RA 286.56569° · Dec 41.80842°
Galactic ℓ, b
72.529° · 15.135°
Ecliptic λ, β
298.564° · 63.614°
HTM-20 index
1209492992
Similar Worlds
Kepler-257 b
Sub-Neptune · K-type orange
Radius 2.61 R⊕ · 2,544.9 ly
GJ 143 b
Sub-Neptune · K-type orange
Radius 2.61 R⊕ · 53.2 ly
Kepler-970 b
Sub-Neptune · K-type orange
Radius 2.61 R⊕ · 1,081.4 ly
K2-54 b
Sub-Neptune · K-type orange
Radius 2.61 R⊕ · 570.6 ly
HD 110067 g
Sub-Neptune · K-type orange
Radius 2.61 R⊕ · 104.9 ly
HD 110067 f
Sub-Neptune · K-type orange
Radius 2.60 R⊕ · 104.9 ly