Kepler-1548 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

Kepler-1548 b is a confirmed sub-neptune exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-1548, located approximately 2845 light-years (872.28 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2016 by Kepler using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 0.0623% across the stellar disk), this world measures 2.64 Earth radii and has a measured mass of 7.46 Earth masses. Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 2.24 g/cm³ (an intermediate density indicative of a deep water-ice mantle or dense volatile envelope), a surface gravity of 1.07 g⊕ (10.49 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 18.8 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around Kepler-1548, Kepler-1548 b completes one full revolution every 124.829 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.4679 AU (situated at an orbital separation between Mercury's 0.39 AU and Venus's 0.72 AU). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 40.8 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.

☁️ Atmospheric Regime (Volatile / Gas Envelope): With a radius of 2.640 R⊕, Kepler-1548 b exceeds the empirical ~1.8–2.2 R⊕ Fulton radius valley threshold, indicating a substantial hydrogen-helium or supercritical volatile envelope without a conventional solid terrestrial surface.

The host star Kepler-1548 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,706 K, a radius of 0.97 R☉, a mass of 0.99 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.895 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 4.37 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.05 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, Kepler-1548 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 15.324 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

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