TOI-969 c
Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization
TOI-969 c is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star TOI-969, located approximately 252 light-years (77.26 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2022 by Multiple Observatories using the Radial Velocity detection technique (measuring periodic Doppler reflex motion in the host star's spectrum), this world measures 12.4 Earth radii (1.11 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 3591.461 Earth masses (11.3 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 10.39 g/cm³ (an iron-enriched, high-compression rocky core), a surface gravity of 23.36 g⊕ (229.08 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 190.4 km/s.
In its orbital architecture around TOI-969, TOI-969 c completes one full revolution every 1700 Earth days (4.65Julian years) at a semi-major axis of 2.52 AU (corresponding to the middle-system regime between Mars at 1.52 AU and Jupiter at 5.20 AU). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 16.1 km/s (compared to Earth's 29.8 km/s). The planet follows a highly eccentric trajectory (e = 0.628, swinging from 0.9374 AU at periapsis out to 4.1026 AU at apoapsis), pointing to past dynamical scattering or secular gravitational perturbations.
❄️ Thermal Regime (Cryogenic Zone): With an equilibrium temperature of 96 K (-177°C / -287°F) and an incident flux of 0.02 S⊕ (~28 W/m²), surface water and volatile species on TOI-969 c would remain locked in cryogenic ice phases unless warmed by subsurface tidal or radiogenic heating.
The host star TOI-969 is classified as an orange K-type star of spectral type K V with an effective photospheric temperature of 4,435 K, a radius of 0.671 R☉, a mass of 0.734 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.156 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 2.03 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.175 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, TOI-969 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 11.646 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere. The TOI-969 system is a multi-planet architecture hosting 2 confirmed worlds, with TOI-969 c sharing its stellar neighborhood alongside TOI-969 b.
Methodology: Computed using the Schulze-Makuch et al. (2011) weighted metric comparing physical interior (radius, estimated density) and surface thermal regime (escape velocity, equilibrium temperature).
Discovery Facility: Multiple Observatories · Catalogue Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC / Caltech).
☀️ Host Star Telemetry
| Host Star Name | TOI-969 |
| Spectral Type | K V |
| Effective Temp (Teff) | 4,435 K |
| Stellar Radius | 0.6710 R☉ |
| Stellar Mass | 0.7340 M☉ |
| Bolometric Luminosity | 0.156 L☉ |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | 0.175 dex |
| Stellar Age | 2.030 Gyr |
| Apparent Magnitude | V: 11.646 · G: 11.267 |
| System Architecture | 1 Star, 2 Planets |
🪐 Orbital & Physical Dynamics
| Semi-Major Axis (a) | 2.520000 AU |
| Orbital Period | 1700 days |
| Mean Orbital Velocity | 16.1 km/s |
| Orbital Eccentricity (e) | 0.62800 |
| Orbital Inclination (i) | — |
| Mean Bulk Density | 10.39 g/cm³ (190.4 km/s vesc) |
| Insolation Flux | 0.0208 S⊕ (~28 W/m²) |
| Habitable Zone Status | Exterior / Non-HZ |
| Celestial Distance | 252.000 LY (77.255 pc) |