Exoplanet · gas giant
K2-261 b
K2-261 b is a gas giant orbiting the star K2-261. Its year lasts 11.6 Earth days. It was discovered in 2018 by the Transit method.
| Host star | K2-261 |
|---|---|
| Distance | 695.6 light-years (213.3 pc) |
| Orbital period | 11.6 days |
| Orbital radius | 0.109 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.274 |
| Radius | 9.27 R⊕ · 0.827 R♃ |
| Mass | 69 M⊕ · 0.217 M♃ |
| Density | 0.473 g/cm³ |
| Surface gravity | 0.803 × Earth |
| Equilibrium temperature | 1,036 K (763 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 180 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Transit |
| Discovery year | 2018 |
| Discovered by | K2 |
Habitable zone
Inside the inner edge of the habitable zone: it receives 180 times the light the Earth does, too hot to keep liquid water on its surface.
Its star in the sky
In the planet's sky its star is a disc 8.1° across: 15 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 10.72. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 90° N. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1330. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 12 million years.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.