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Entering orbit…
Habitability
84/ 100
Highly Habitable

Reading GJ 163 c’s atmosphere

Dominant elements: H, O, Si, Fe, N, CThis is what a telescope would measure while GJ 163 c crosses in front of its star: starlight passes through the atmosphere and spreads into a rainbow band. Each dark line marks a wavelength the atmosphere absorbed.Every element absorbs its own signature wavelengths — hydrogen always darkens the same two spots, calcium another pair, and so on. Astronomers match the lines in a real spectrum against a library of these signatures to say what an atmosphere is made of, light-years away, without ever visiting. A deeper line generally means more of that element is present.GJ 163 c sits about 49 light-years away, found by the radial velocity method. Most catalogued distances trace back to parallax: as Earth orbits the Sun, a nearby star appears to shift very slightly against the distant background stars, and the size of that shift gives its distance directly.

GJ 163 c

Water-RichHighly Habitable49 light years awayFound 2013

GJ 163 c, from the NASA Exoplanet Archive (found 2013). Measured: 6.8 Earth masses, 0.125 AU, a 3500 K M-type star. Composition inferred from a estimated bulk density of 0.44x Earth's, modeled rather than measured since this isn't a transiting planet, larger than even a pure water/ice world of this mass, suggesting a water-rich interior under roughly a 1% hydrogen/helium envelope by mass, with an assumed 24-hour day — rotation cannot be measured for exoplanets.

Host star

GJ 163

Type
M-type (Red Dwarf)
Spectral type
M
Temperature
3,500 K
Radius
0.41 ☉
Mass
0.4 ☉
Known planets
3, including this one
Luminosity
0.0196 ☉

Published by the NASA Exoplanet Archive. This world’s temperature and habitability score are computed from this star’s measured luminosity, not from a stand-in for its class.

Water World

Magnetic FieldExtreme Activity
Why is this a Water World?Your planet has abundant oxygen (29.9%) and hydrogen (54.9%), creating extensive water coverage while in the habitable temperature zone.
Water worlds have deep global oceans covering most or all of their surface. They form when planets have high water content and orbit in the habitable zone.
Classification Criteria:
✓ Oxygen: 29.9% + Hydrogen: 54.9% (water-forming elements)✓ Temperature: 309K (habitable range)✓ Distance: 0.13 AU (habitable zone)
Further reading
Imagined LifeJames Trefil & Michael SummersWhat could live on a world like this one: ice shells, supergravity, tidally locked twilight.Envisioning ExoplanetsMichael CarrollWhat these worlds might look like from the ground, painted from the same measurements this page renders.The Little Book of ExoplanetsJoshua WinnHow these worlds are found, and what a measurement can honestly tell us.Exoplanets: Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar PlanetsMichael Summers & James TrefilThe strange end of the catalogue — carbon worlds, molten rock, planets orbiting dead stars.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases — if you buy through these links, TerraForge may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Habitability ScoreHighly Habitable
84
Contributing Factors
temperature100
Optimal temperature range for liquid water and life
atmosphere100
Nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere - breathable and protective
water100
Abundant water
magnetic Field100
Magnetic field provides radiation protection
geology40
Extreme volcanic activity may be hazardous
Organic Chemistry80
Core organic elements (CHNO) present
rotation100
Optimal rotation period - balanced day/night cycle, moderate weather, and good heat distribution

Physical Properties

Mass
6.80x Earth (4.06e+25 kg)
Radius
1.89x Earth (12,070 km)
This planet: 1.89× Earth radiusEarth: 1× (baseline)
Surface Gravity
1.89x Earth (18.6 m/s²)
Surface Temperature
309 K (36 °C / 97 °F)
Rotation Period
24.0 hours/day
This planet: 24 h/dayEarth: 24 h/day

Orbital Environment

Star Type
M-type (Red Dwarf)
Distance from Star
0.13 AU (18.7 million km)
Orbital Period
29 days

Atmosphere

Nitrogen and oxygen with water vapor, mild greenhouse effect

Elemental Composition

H - Hydrogen
54.9%
O - Oxygen
29.9%
Si - Silicon
6.0%

Surface Characteristics

Vast oceans covering most of the surface, scattered islands or archipelagos
A binary star system's orrery: two suns close together, a red dashed dead-zone boundary, and a debris trail left by a destroyed world

New: Binary Star Systems 🌀

A system can now orbit two suns. Add a companion star when you build one — close, medium, or wide — and the physics decides what survives: a shared center of mass carves out a dead zone where gravity from both stars tears a world apart, leaving it as debris, and every surviving planet's orbit goes elliptical, moving fastest at closest approach and slowest out at aphelion. Push the separation to wide and the dead zone opens tens of AU across, wide enough to gut a system that would have been stable around one star alone. Stand on a world that made it through and you'll watch two suns cross the sky together.

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