CoRoT-3 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

CoRoT-3 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star CoRoT-3, located approximately 2507.4 light-years (768.77 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2008 by CoRoT using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 0.4426% across the stellar disk), this world measures 11.32 Earth radii (1.01 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 6883.91 Earth masses (21.66 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 26.17 g/cm³ (an iron-enriched, high-compression rocky core), a surface gravity of 53.72 g⊕ (526.81 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 275.8 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around CoRoT-3, CoRoT-3 b completes one full revolution every 4.257 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.05783 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 147.8 km/s (compared to Earth's 29.8 km/s). The orbit is modeled as circular (e = 0.00), maintaining a constant stellar distance throughout its year.

⚠️ Thermal Regime (Irradiated / Hot Zone): At an equilibrium temperature of 1695 K (+1422°C / +2592°F) and receiving 735.45 S⊕ (~1,000,944 W/m²), CoRoT-3 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star CoRoT-3 is classified as a warm F-type star of spectral type F3 V with an effective photospheric temperature of 6,740 K, a radius of 1.56 R☉, a mass of 1.37 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 4.506 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 2.2 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.14 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, CoRoT-3 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 13.448 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

Discovery Facility: CoRoT · Catalogue Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC / Caltech).