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Rare exoplanet 34 EP

K2-73 b

RA 335.0257° · Dec -9.0561° · exoplanet

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
34 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Tidally locked +10
  • Orbits a Sun-like star +8
  • Multi-planet system +6
  • Confirmed exoplanet +5
  • Sub-Neptune +5
Total score 34

16 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Confirmed exoplanet · +5
  • Sub-Neptune · +5
  • Tidally locked · +10
  • Multi-planet system · +6
  • 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. Too light to be solid rock and too heavy to be all gas: most likely a deep global ocean or a thick steamy envelope over a rocky core.
  • 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 11.3 you'll want a small backyard telescope.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • 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
2.8
diameter km
32910.996
discovery facility
K2
discovery method
Transit
discovery year
2016
dist ly
877.9565
eq temp k
968
host star teff
5867
inclination
88.443
insolation
209
mag
11.345
mass earth
9.2
name
K2-73 b
orbital period days
7.4956
radius earth
2.58
semi major au
0.0762
sys num planets
2
sys num stars
1
tidally locked
yes
tidally locked inferred
yes

About K2-73 b

K2-73 b is a rare exoplanet. It lies about 878 light-years from Earth, shines at apparent magnitude 11.35, has an equilibrium temperature near 968 K and spans roughly 2.58 Earth radii.

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 11.35, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, K2-73 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 K2-73 b is a rare exoplanet

K2-73 b 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 5 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Sub-Neptune, Tidally locked, Multi-planet 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.