← Back to dex
Rare exoplanet 34 EP

Kepler-278 c

RA 290.1072° · Dec 38.7023° · exoplanet

Loading sky survey…
🌌 View in 3D star map
Tonight’s visibility

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 6 badges
34 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Eccentric orbit +9
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Multi-planet system +6
  • Confirmed exoplanet +5
  • Sub-Neptune +5
  • Found by Kepler +3
Total score 34

16 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Confirmed exoplanet · +5
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Sub-Neptune · +5
  • Eccentric orbit · +9
  • Multi-planet system · +6
  • Found by Kepler · +3

Trivia

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 2 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 11.8 you'll want a small backyard telescope.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around July — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Properties

density gcc
5.5
diameter km
41687.2616
discovery facility
Kepler
discovery method
Transit
discovery year
2014
dist ly
1444.9689
eccentricity
0.616
eq temp k
492
host star teff
4965
inclination
88.58
insolation
54.3
mag
11.811
mass earth
34.9
name
Kepler-278 c
orbital period days
51.111
radius earth
3.268
semi major au
0.287
spect
K2 III-IV
sys num planets
2
sys num stars
1

About Kepler-278 c

Kepler-278 c is a rare exoplanet. It lies about 1,445 light-years from Earth, shines at apparent magnitude 11.81, has spectral type K2 III-IV and has an equilibrium temperature near 492 K.

It orbits closer to its star than Mercury does to the Sun, completing a lap in less time than Mercury takes.

How to see it

At apparent magnitude 11.81, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, Kepler-278 c 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 Kepler-278 c is a rare exoplanet

Kepler-278 c scores 34 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 16 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Sub-Neptune, Eccentric orbit, Multi-planet system and Found by Kepler — 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.