← Back to dex
Rare exoplanet 45 EP

K2-138 b

RA 348.9490° · Dec -10.8497° · exoplanet

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

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 5 badges
45 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Richly packed system +14
  • Tidally locked +10
  • Super-Earth +8
  • Orbits a Sun-like star +8
  • Confirmed exoplanet +5
Total score 45

5 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Confirmed exoplanet · +5
  • Super-Earth · +8
  • Tidally locked · +10
  • Richly packed system · +14
  • Orbits a Sun-like star · +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 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 12.2 it is far too faint for the eye: this one belongs to cameras and long exposures.
  • 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.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

density gcc
4.9
diameter km
19261.862
discovery facility
K2
discovery method
Transit
discovery year
2017
dist ly
660.7431
eccentricity
0.048
eq temp k
1157
host star teff
5356.3
inclination
87.2
insolation
486
mag
12.246
mass earth
3.1
name
K2-138 b
orbital period days
2.3531
radius earth
1.51
semi major au
0.0338
spect
G8 V
sys num planets
6
sys num stars
1
tidally locked
yes
tidally locked inferred
yes

About K2-138 b

K2-138 b is a rare exoplanet. It lies about 660.7 light-years from Earth, shines at apparent magnitude 12.25, has spectral type G8 V and has an equilibrium temperature near 1,157 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 12.25, it takes a larger telescope or a long-exposure image to capture.

Like any astronomical target, K2-138 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 K2-138 b is a rare exoplanet

K2-138 b scores 45 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Super-Earth, Tidally locked, Richly packed system and Orbits a Sun-like star — 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.