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Rare exoplanet 49 EP

Kepler-68 b

RA 291.0323° · Dec 49.0402° · exoplanet

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
49 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Two suns in its sky +12
  • Tidally locked +10
  • Orbits a Sun-like star +8
  • Multi-planet system +6
  • Confirmed exoplanet +5
  • Sub-Neptune +5
  • Found by Kepler +3
Total score 49

1 more point to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Confirmed exoplanet · +5
  • Sub-Neptune · +5
  • Tidally locked · +10
  • Multi-planet system · +6
  • Found by Kepler · +3
  • Orbits a Sun-like star · +8
  • Two suns in its sky · +12

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. 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 10.1 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. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

density gcc
3.37
diameter km
30066.3634
discovery facility
Kepler
discovery method
Transit
discovery year
2013
dist ly
470.2061
eccentricity
0.09
eq temp k
1275
host star teff
5847
inclination
87.23
insolation
441
mag
10.077
mass earth
8.03
multi star system
yes
name
Kepler-68 b
orbital period days
5.3988
radius earth
2.357
semi major au
0.0614
sys num planets
4
sys num stars
2
tidally locked
yes
tidally locked inferred
yes

About Kepler-68 b

Kepler-68 b is a rare exoplanet. It lies about 470.2 light-years from Earth, shines at apparent magnitude 10.08, has an equilibrium temperature near 1,275 K and spans roughly 2.36 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 10.08, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, Kepler-68 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 Kepler-68 b is a rare exoplanet

Kepler-68 b 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 7 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Sub-Neptune, Tidally locked, Multi-planet system, Found by Kepler, Orbits a Sun-like star and Two suns in its sky — 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.