Kepler-796 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

Kepler-796 b is a confirmed super-earth exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-796, located approximately 2666.6 light-years (817.58 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2016 by Kepler using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 0.012% across the stellar disk), this world measures 1.3 Earth radii and has a measured mass of 2.24 Earth masses. Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 5.62 g/cm³ (a terrestrial silicate-iron composition comparable to Earth (5.51 g/cm³)), a surface gravity of 1.33 g⊕ (13.04 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 14.7 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around Kepler-796, Kepler-796 b completes one full revolution every 6.401 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.07317 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 124.4 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 1109 K (+836°C / +1537°F) and receiving 962.26 S⊕ (~1,309,641 W/m²), Kepler-796 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star Kepler-796 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,475 K, a radius of 1.09 R☉, a mass of 0.93 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.958 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 11.75 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.09 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, Kepler-796 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 13.175 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

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