13point8100 ly map
4 known planets · 15.2 light years

Gliese 876

Gliese 876 is a red dwarf (M2.5V) 15.2 light years away, with 4 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

Gliese 876

Type
M2.5V
Surface
≈ 3,294 K
Size
0.30 × the Sun
Mass
0.32 × the Sun
Brightness
0.0124 × the Sun
Habitable zone
0.106–0.186 AU
Facts and sources →

The planets

Gliese 876

GJ 876 d

Year
1.94 days
Distance from star
0.0208 AU
Mass
6.8 Earths
Size
2.5 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 603 K (+330 °C)
Found
2005, radial velocity (W. M. Keck Observatory)
Too hot
Gliese 876

GJ 876 c

Year
30.09 days
Distance from star
0.13 AU
Mass
2.3e+02 Earths
Size
14 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 242 K (-31 °C)
Found
2000, radial velocity (Multiple Observatories)
In the habitable zone
Gliese 876

GJ 876 b

Year
61.12 days
Distance from star
0.208 AU
Mass
2.3 Jupiters
Size
13 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 191 K (-83 °C)
Found
1998, radial velocity (Multiple Observatories)
Outside the habitable zone
Gliese 876

GJ 876 e

Year
124.26 days
Distance from star
0.334 AU
Mass
15 Earths
Size
3.9 × Earth
Temperature
≈ 150 K (-123 °C)
Found
2010, radial velocity (W. M. Keck 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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