The star
The star
Kepler-226
- Type
- yellow star
- Surface
- ≈ 5,571 K
- Size
- 0.80 × the Sun
- Mass
- 0.90 × the Sun
- Brightness
- 0.576 × the Sun
- Habitable zone
- 0.577–1.37 AU
The planets
Kepler-226
Kepler-226 b
- Year
- 3.94 days
- Distance from star
- 0.047 AU
- Mass
- 24 Earths
- Size
- 1.6 × Earth
- Temperature
- ≈ 1018 K (+745 °C)
- Found
- 2014, transit (Kepler)
Kepler-226
Kepler-226 c
- Year
- 5.35 days
- Distance from star
- 0.058 AU
- Mass
- 45 Earths
- Size
- 2.3 × Earth
- Temperature
- ≈ 919 K (+646 °C)
- Found
- 2014, transit (Kepler)
Kepler-226
Kepler-226 d
- Year
- 8.11 days
- Distance from star
- 0.076 AU
- Mass
- 2 Earths
- Size
- 1.2 × Earth
- Temperature
- ≈ 800 K (+527 °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.