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Rare exoplanet 49 EP

TOI-178 b

RA 7.3020° · Dec -30.4541° · exoplanet

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
49 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Earth-sized +16
  • Richly packed system +14
  • Tidally locked +10
  • Confirmed exoplanet +5
  • Found by TESS +4
Total score 49

1 more point to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Confirmed exoplanet · +5
  • Earth-sized · +16
  • Tidally locked · +10
  • Richly packed system · +14
  • Found by TESS · +4

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Earth-sized. Genuinely comparable to Earth in size. Worlds in this narrow band are the ones every next-generation telescope is being pointed at.

What it actually is

  • Hugging its star. It orbits closer to its star than Mercury does to the Sun, completing a lap in less time than Mercury takes.
  • What it is made of. Its density says rock, though lighter than Earth's mix: probably less iron, or a thick shell of water and ice over the top.
  • Crowded system. One of at least 6 planets orbiting its star.

Sense of scale

  • In perspective. Far away by human standards, yet still a local address inside the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 12 you'll want a small backyard telescope.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around September — that's when to go looking.

Properties

density gcc
3.1428
diameter km
15307.44
discovery facility
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
discovery method
Transit
discovery year
2021
dist ly
204.4966
eq temp k
1040
host star teff
4316
inclination
88.8
insolation
200.1045
mag
11.955
mass earth
0.96
name
TOI-178 b
orbital period days
1.9146
radius earth
1.2
semi major au
0.0261
spect
K
sys num planets
6
sys num stars
1
tidally locked
yes
tidally locked inferred
yes

About TOI-178 b

TOI-178 b is a rare exoplanet. It lies about 204.5 light-years from Earth, shines at apparent magnitude 11.96, has spectral type K and has an equilibrium temperature near 1,040 K.

Genuinely comparable to Earth in size. Worlds in this narrow band are the ones every next-generation telescope is being pointed at.

How to see it

At apparent magnitude 11.96, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, TOI-178 b is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.

Why TOI-178 b is a rare exoplanet

TOI-178 b scores 49 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Earth-sized, Tidally locked, Richly packed system and Found by TESS — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.