The star
The star
Kepler-1996
- Type
- orange dwarf
- Surface
- ≈ 4,580 K
- Size
- 0.68 × the Sun
- Mass
- 0.75 × the Sun
- Brightness
- 0.22 × the Sun
- Habitable zone
- 0.374–0.921 AU
The planets
Kepler-1996
Kepler-1996 b
- Year
- 32.38 days
- Distance from star
- 0.179 AU
- Mass
- 5.7 Earths
- Size
- 2.3 × Earth
- Temperature
- ≈ 392 K (+119 °C)
- Found
- 2023, transit (Kepler)
Kepler-1996
Kepler-1996 c
- Year
- 92.73 days
- Distance from star
- 0.361 AU
- Mass
- 8.3 Earths
- Size
- 2.8 × Earth
- Temperature
- ≈ 276 K (+3 °C)
- Found
- 2023, 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.