Kepler-762 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

Kepler-762 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-762, located approximately 6191.3 light-years (1898.26 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2016 by Kepler using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.1586% across the stellar disk), this world has a measured radius of 12.68 Earth radii (1.13 R♃), though radial-velocity mass constraints remain unmeasured in the current composite catalogue.

In its orbital architecture around Kepler-762, Kepler-762 b completes one full revolution every 3.771 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.0493 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 142.2 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 1302 K (+1029°C / +1884°F) and receiving 1,065.73 S⊕ (~1,450,464 W/m²), Kepler-762 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star Kepler-762 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,944 K, a radius of 1.08 R☉, a mass of 1.06 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 1.306 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 3.8 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.02 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, Kepler-762 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 15.574 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

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