← Back to dex
Common exoplanet 20 EP

AU Mic c

RA 311.2911° · Dec -31.3424° · exoplanet

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

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 4 badges
20 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Multi-planet system +6
  • Confirmed exoplanet +5
  • Sub-Neptune +5
  • Found by TESS +4
Total score 20

2 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Confirmed exoplanet · +5
  • Sub-Neptune · +5
  • Multi-planet system · +6
  • Found by TESS · +4

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 4 planets orbiting its star.

Sense of scale

  • In perspective. Inside our stellar backyard: every radio broadcast humanity has ever made has already swept past it.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 8.8 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in.
  • 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 August — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

density gcc
3.9
diameter km
35589.798
discovery facility
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
discovery method
Transit
discovery year
2021
dist ly
31.7092
eccentricity
0.18
eq temp k
424.7
host star teff
3540
inclination
89.46
insolation
7.3
mag
8.81
mass earth
14.46
name
AU Mic c
orbital period days
18.859
radius earth
2.79
semi major au
0.119
spect
M1 V
sys num planets
4
sys num stars
1

About AU Mic c

AU Mic c is a common exoplanet. It lies about 31.7 light-years from Earth, shines at apparent magnitude 8.81, has spectral type M1 V and has an equilibrium temperature near 425 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 8.81, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, AU Mic 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 AU Mic c is a common exoplanet

AU Mic c scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Sub-Neptune, Multi-planet 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.