The star
The star
Kepler-156
- Type
- orange dwarf
- Surface
- ≈ 5,094 K
- Size
- 0.81 × the Sun
- Mass
- 0.86 × the Sun
- Brightness
- 0.363 × the Sun
- Habitable zone
- 0.47–1.13 AU
The planets
Kepler-156
Kepler-156 b
- Year
- 4.97 days
- Distance from star
- 0.054 AU
- Mass
- 5.9 Earths
- Size
- 2.3 × Earth
- Temperature
- ≈ 867 K (+594 °C)
- Found
- 2014, transit (Kepler)
Kepler-156
Kepler-156 c
- Year
- 15.91 days
- Distance from star
- 0.117 AU
- Mass
- 7 Earths
- Size
- 2.5 × Earth
- Temperature
- ≈ 588 K (+315 °C)
- Found
- 2014, transit (Kepler)
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 shadow
The planet passes in front of its star and dims it by a fraction of a percent, every orbit. The dip gives the planet's size and year.
Sources
- Planet and star parameters: NASA Exoplanet Archive, Planetary Systems Composite Parameters, retrieved 1 Nov 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.
- Position: HYG Database v4.1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Habitable zone: a simple estimate from the star's brightness (√L × 0.95 to 1.67 AU), shown as a guide.