Exoplanet · mini-Neptune
Kepler-61 b
Kepler-61 b is a mini-Neptune orbiting the star Kepler-61. Its year lasts 59.9 Earth days. It was discovered in 2013 by the Transit method.
| Host star | Kepler-61 |
|---|---|
| Distance | 1,093 light-years (335.1 pc) |
| Orbital period | 59.9 days |
| Orbital radius | 0.249 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.250 |
| Radius | 2.15 R⊕ · 0.192 R♃ |
| Mass | 5.27 M⊕ · 0.0166 M♃ (estimated from the radius) |
| Density | 2.91 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 273 K (-0 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 1.69 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Transit |
| Discovery year | 2013 |
| Discovered by | Kepler |
Habitable zone
At the edge of the habitable zone (within the optimistic limits): liquid water would be possible only with a favourable atmosphere.
Its star in the sky
In the planet's sky its star is a disc 1.3° across: 2.5 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 15.28. Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 48° S. North of latitude 48° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 933. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 19 million years.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.