Two suns over ice
An artistic scene associated with Kepler-16 b. The scientific record below anchors the setting; it does not establish the depicted environment.
The imagined scene
The host system is real. All alien organisms, robots, societies and social histories are fictional. Moons, rings, terrain and weather are artistic assumptions unless specifically supported by a cited source. These images are not calibrated simulations of the sky.
The scientific anchor
Confirmed circumbinary planet; moon, atmosphere, ice, organisms and chosen orbit are invented.
Doyle et al. 2011 · Doyle et al. 2011 · Gaia DR2 · Q1-Q8 KOI Table · TICv8
Available measurements
Host: Kepler-16 · 2 catalog star(s) · Giant-size planet
NASA composite catalog values may combine different papers. Errors and upper/lower limits are retained. “Calculated Value” means derived or estimated. Msini is a minimum mass. Missing values are unknown. A multiple-star system’s single stellar row does not describe every component. Equilibrium temperature is not a measured surface temperature.
| Quantity | Value & uncertainty | Unit | Paper / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planet radius | 8.4493 [+0.0291 / -0.0291] | Earth radii | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Planet mass | 105.83 [+5.085 / -5.085] | Earth masses | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Bulk density | 0.964 [+0.047 / -0.046] | g/cm³ | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Orbital period | 228.78 [+0.02 / -0.037] | days | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Orbital semimajor axis | 0.7048 [+0.0011 / -0.0011] | AU | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Orbital eccentricity | 0.0069 [+0.001 / -0.0015] | Doyle et al. 2011 | |
| Orbital inclination | 90.032 [+0.0022 / -0.0023] | degrees | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Irradiation | 0.2517 [+0.0012 / -0.0012] | Earth flux | Calculated Value |
| Equilibrium temperature | 205.9 [+6.95 / -6.95] | K; not surface temperature | Calculated Value |
| Catalog stellar effective temperature | 4,450 [+150 / -150] | K | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Catalog stellar radius | 0.6489 [+0.0013 / -0.0013] | Solar radii | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Catalog stellar mass | 0.6897 [+0.0035 / -0.0034] | Solar masses | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Catalog stellar luminosity | -0.90301 [+0.00147 / -0.00148] | log10 Solar luminosity | Gaia DR2 |
| Catalog stellar age | 3.8 [+3.7 / -3.7] | Gyr | Q1-Q8 KOI Table |
| Catalog stellar metallicity | -0.3 [+0.2 / -0.2] | dex | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| System distance | 75.085 [+0.1541 / -0.1536] | pc | TICv8 |
What about life?
Likely a deep gaseous envelope, without a solid exterior surface. Atmospheric or moon life is speculative; this is not proof that all life is impossible. No confirmed life; no planet-specific biosignature literature review in this release.
Papers and references
Doyle et al. 2011 · Doyle et al. 2011 · Gaia DR2 · Q1-Q8 KOI Table · TICv8