- sun
- 7.7× wider
- sky
- warm white
Illustration computed from this world’s measured and derived values, not a photograph.
Kepler-281 b
Kepler-281 b is a confirmed sub-Neptune exoplanet 5,693 ly from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, discovered in 2014 by Kepler.
Transit: spotted by the tiny, repeating dip in its star’s light each time the planet crosses in front of it (what that means).
Its yellow, Sun-like star looks 7.7× wider than ours, bathing the surface in warm white light. It is likely tidally locked, so that sun never moves in the sky: one hemisphere in endless day, the other in permanent night. A year passes in just 15 days, and at an estimated 421°C (790°F) it is blistering.
Catalog values (NASA Exoplanet Archive): mass 324 M⊕, radius 2.82 R⊕. Its catalog mass and radius imply a density of 79.6 g/cm³, denser than compressed iron, so they cannot both be right, and gravityfinder does not use Kepler-281 b in gravity rankings or weight calculations.
How closely this world matches Earth in size and warmth, from 0 to 1 (Earth = 1.0). Computed by gravityfinder. See every world ranked →
What these mean: surface gravity · tidal locking · equilibrium temperature · Earth similarity
Hear how a voice sounds herea computed acoustic demoEXPERIMENTAL · just for fun
Your voice would sound high and thin, almost cartoonish.
Assuming Earth-like air at this world's temperature of about 421°C (790°F), sound would travel roughly 55% faster than on Earth, so your voice would sound high and thin, almost cartoonish. The real atmosphere is unknown, so this is a best guess.
A real voice sample, pitch-shifted (tempo held constant) to suggest the acoustics: a playful approximation, not a precise simulation. Voice: Lingua Libre / Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- !Blistering at about 421°C (790°F), far too hot for liquid water on the surface.
- !Its star delivers about 118 times the sunlight Earth gets, a blinding, sterilizing glare.
- !Earth-similarity index 0.18: this world has almost nothing in common with our own.
- !Likely tidally locked: one hemisphere in endless day, the other in permanent night.
A playful read of Kepler-281 b’s measured and computed values, not a real advisory.
How long to get there · 5,693 ly awayCALCULATED
Zoom out: star → system → (soon) galaxy arm, host black hole, and a real image of the host galaxy.
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How far is Kepler-281 b from Earth?
Kepler-281 b lies about 5,693 light-years from Earth.
How long would it take to get to Kepler-281 b?
At the speed of NASA's Parker Solar Probe, the fastest craft ever built, the journey would take about 8.9 million years.
How hot is Kepler-281 b?
Kepler-281 b's equilibrium temperature, the balance it reaches from its star's light alone before any greenhouse warming, is about 421°C (790°F).
How long is a year on Kepler-281 b?
Kepler-281 b completes one orbit of its star in 15 days.
Illustration generated from Kepler-281 b's confirmed parameters, not a photograph.