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Rare exoplanet 49 EP

L 98-59 c

RA 124.5329° · Dec -68.3145° · exoplanet

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
49 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Richly packed system +14
  • Tidally locked +10
  • Super-Earth +8
  • Orbits a red dwarf +8
  • Confirmed exoplanet +5
  • Found by TESS +4
Total score 49

1 more point to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Confirmed exoplanet · +5
  • Super-Earth · +8
  • Tidally locked · +10
  • Richly packed system · +14
  • Found by TESS · +4
  • Orbits a red dwarf · +8

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 5 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 11.7 you'll want a small backyard telescope.
  • Southern sky only. So far south it never rises for most of the northern hemisphere. To see it you'd have to travel to Chile, South Africa or Australia.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around January — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

density gcc
4.7
diameter km
16952.9898
discovery facility
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
discovery method
Transit
discovery year
2019
dist ly
34.6358
eccentricity
0.002
eq temp k
526
host star teff
3415
inclination
88.88
insolation
12.7
mag
11.685
mass earth
2
name
L 98-59 c
orbital period days
3.6907
radius earth
1.329
semi major au
0.0309
spect
M3 V
sys num planets
5
sys num stars
1
tidally locked
yes
tidally locked inferred
yes

About L 98-59 c

L 98-59 c is a rare exoplanet. It lies about 34.6 light-years from Earth, shines at apparent magnitude 11.69, has spectral type M3 V and has an equilibrium temperature near 526 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 11.69, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, L 98-59 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 L 98-59 c is a rare exoplanet

L 98-59 c 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 6 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Super-Earth, Tidally locked, Richly packed system, Found by TESS and Orbits a red dwarf — 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.