13point8100 ly map
5 known planets · 41.0 light years

55 Cancri

55 Cancri is a orange dwarf (G8 V) 41.0 light years away, with 5 confirmed planets, 1 of them in the habitable zone. Distances and orbital speeds are to scale; the star and planets are enlarged so you can see them.

Day 0
habitable zone (estimate)planet orbits

Green band: where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. Drag to turn the system, pinch or scroll to zoom.

The star

The star

55 Cancri

Type
G8 V
Surface
≈ 5,198 K
Size
0.98 × the Sun
Mass
1.01 × the Sun
Brightness
0.635 × the Sun
Habitable zone
0.618–1.48 AU

The planets

55 Cancri

55 Cnc e

Year
0.74 days
Distance from star
0.0154 AU
Mass
8 Earths
Size
1.9 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 1958 K (+1685 °C)
Found
2004, radial velocity (McDonald Observatory)
Too hot
55 Cancri

55 Cnc b

Year
14.65 days
Distance from star
0.118 AU
Mass
2.6e+02 Earths
Size
14 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 700 K (+427 °C)
Found
1996, radial velocity (Lick Observatory)
Too hot
55 Cancri

55 Cnc c

Year
44.39 days
Distance from star
0.247 AU
Mass
54 Earths
Size
8.5 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 499 K (+226 °C)
Found
2004, radial velocity (McDonald Observatory)
Too hot
55 Cancri

55 Cnc f

Year
260.58 days
Distance from star
0.802 AU
Mass
45 Earths
Size
7.6 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 277 K (+4 °C)
Found
2007, radial velocity (Multiple Observatories)
In the habitable zone
55 Cancri

55 Cnc d

Year
13.1 years
Distance from star
5.6 AU
Mass
3.9 Jupiters
Size
13 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 105 K (-168 °C)
Found
2002, radial velocity (Lick Observatory)
Outside the habitable zone

Masses found by the wobble method are minimums, because the orbit's tilt is unknown. Temperatures are equilibrium estimates for a bare planet, before any atmosphere.

How we know

The wobble

The planet tugs its star back and forth. Spectrographs measure the tiny shift in the star's light, which gives the planet's year and a minimum mass.

Sources

  1. Planet and star parameters: NASA Exoplanet Archive, Planetary Systems Composite Parameters, retrieved 31 Oct 2026. This research has made use of the NASA Exoplanet Archive, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA under the Exoplanet Exploration Program.
  2. Position: HYG Database v4.1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
  3. Habitable zone: a simple estimate from the star's brightness (√L × 0.95 to 1.67 AU), shown as a guide.
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