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Entering orbit…
Habitability
13/ 100
Uninhabitable

Reading HD 185283 b’s atmosphere

Dominant elements: H, He, O, C, NThis is what a telescope would measure while HD 185283 b 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.HD 185283 b sits about 102 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.

HD 185283 b

Gas GiantUninhabitable102 light years awayFound 2023

HD 185283 b, from the NASA Exoplanet Archive (found 2023). Measured: 413 Earth masses, 4.6 AU, a 4848 K K-type star. Composition inferred from a mass of 413 Earths, which is giant territory whatever its 0.16x density suggests, with an assumed 24-hour day — rotation cannot be measured for exoplanets.

Host star

HD 185283

Type
K-type (Orange)
Spectral type
K3 V
Temperature
4,848 K
Radius
0.743 ☉
Mass
0.8 ☉
Known planets
1 (this one)
Luminosity
0.275 ☉

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.

Gas Giant

Magnetic FieldExtreme Activity
Why is this a Gas Giant?Your planet has 86.0% hydrogen and helium, combined with a mass of 413.0x Earth, which exceeds the gas giant threshold.
Gas giants form when massive cores capture enormous atmospheres of light gases. They typically form beyond the 'frost line' where volatiles can condense.
Classification Criteria:
✓ Hydrogen + Helium: 86.0% (>60% required)✓ Mass: 413.0x Earth (>10x required)
Further reading
Exoplanets: Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar PlanetsMichael Summers & James TrefilThe strange end of the catalogue — carbon worlds, molten rock, planets orbiting dead stars.The Little Book of ExoplanetsJoshua WinnHow these worlds are found, and what a measurement can honestly tell us.Envisioning ExoplanetsMichael CarrollWhat these worlds might look like from the ground, painted from the same measurements this page renders.Imagined LifeJames Trefil & Michael SummersWhat could live on a world like this one: ice shells, supergravity, tidally locked twilight.
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 ScoreUninhabitable
13
Contributing Factors
temperature10
Frozen world - minimal potential for complex life
atmosphere30
Hydrogen-rich atmosphere typical of gas giants
water15
No solid surface — any water is locked in a supercritical mantle and hot ice, not oceans
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
413.00x Earth (2.47e+27 kg)
Radius
7.45x Earth (47,445 km)
This planet: 7.45× Earth radiusEarth: 1× (baseline)
Surface Gravity
7.45x Earth (73.1 m/s²)
Surface Temperature
94 K (-179 °C / -290 °F)
Rotation Period
24.0 hours/day
This planet: 24 h/dayEarth: 24 h/day

Orbital Environment

Star Type
K-type (Orange)
Distance from Star
4.60 AU (688 million km)
Orbital Period
11.8 years

Atmosphere

Hydrogen and helium dominated with trace methane and ammonia

Elemental Composition

H - Hydrogen
53.8%
He - Helium
32.3%
O - Oxygen
5.4%

Surface Characteristics

No solid surface - thick gaseous envelope with possible rocky core deep within
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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