Kepler-723 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

Kepler-723 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-723, located approximately 3495.7 light-years (1071.8 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2016 by Kepler using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.5768% across the stellar disk), this world has a measured radius of 12.19 Earth radii (1.09 R♃), though radial-velocity mass constraints remain unmeasured in the current composite catalogue.

In its orbital architecture around Kepler-723, Kepler-723 b completes one full revolution every 4.082 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.0479 AU (an ultra-close orbit less than one-seventh of Mercury's 0.387 AU distance from the Sun, where strong stellar tidal forces typically induce synchronous rotation). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 127.7 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 1016 K (+743°C / +1369°F) and receiving 251.48 S⊕ (~342,264 W/m²), Kepler-723 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star Kepler-723 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,539 K, a radius of 0.89 R☉, a mass of 0.92 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.669 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 4.57 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, Kepler-723 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 15.452 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

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