Kepler-1976 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

Kepler-1976 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-1976, located approximately 4287.4 light-years (1314.51 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2023 by Kepler using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.0703% across the stellar disk), this world has a measured radius of 12.21 Earth radii (1.09 R♃), though radial-velocity mass constraints remain unmeasured in the current composite catalogue.

In its orbital architecture around Kepler-1976, Kepler-1976 b completes one full revolution every 4.959 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.0565 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 123.9 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 1103 K (+830°C / +1526°F) and receiving 349.40 S⊕ (~475,533 W/m²), Kepler-1976 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star Kepler-1976 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,712 K, a radius of 1.082 R☉, a mass of 0.976 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 1.118 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 0.3 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.1 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, Kepler-1976 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 15.445 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

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