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Entering orbit…
Habitability
17/ 100
Uninhabitable

Reading Kepler-51 b’s atmosphere

Dominant elements: H, He, O, C, NThis is what a telescope would measure while Kepler-51 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.Kepler-51 b sits about 2557 light-years away, found by the transit 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.

Kepler-51 b

Gas DwarfUninhabitable2556 light years awayFound 2012

Kepler-51 b, from the NASA Exoplanet Archive (found 2012). Measured: 2.1 Earth masses, 0.251 AU, a 6018 K F-type star. Composition inferred from a measured bulk density of 0.01x Earth's, which only hydrogen and helium can explain, with an assumed 24-hour day — rotation cannot be measured for exoplanets.

Host star

Kepler-51

Type
F-type (White)
Temperature
6,018 K
Radius
0.94 ☉
Mass
1.04 ☉
Known planets
4, including this one
Luminosity
0.722 ☉

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 Dwarf

Magnetic FieldLow Activity
Why is this a Gas Dwarf?Your planet has an unusual composition that doesn't fit standard classifications, or lacks the elements needed for complex geological processes.
Barren worlds can form from uncommon element combinations or may be remnants of larger bodies that lost their atmospheres and volatile materials.
Classification Criteria:
Composition doesn't match standard planet typesMass: 2.1x EarthTemperature: 513K
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
17
Contributing Factors
temperature15
Extremely hot - hostile to known life forms
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
geology60
Some geological activity provides slow nutrient cycling
Organic Chemistry80
Core organic elements (CHNO) present
rotation100
Optimal rotation period - balanced day/night cycle, moderate weather, and good heat distribution

Physical Properties

Mass
2.10x Earth (1.25e+25 kg)
Radius
1.28x Earth (8,159 km)
This planet: 1.28× Earth radiusEarth: 1× (baseline)
Surface Gravity
1.28x Earth (12.6 m/s²)
Surface Temperature
513 K (240 °C / 463 °F)
Rotation Period
24.0 hours/day
This planet: 24 h/dayEarth: 24 h/day

Orbital Environment

Star Type
F-type (White)
Distance from Star
0.25 AU (37.5 million km)
Orbital Period
40 days

Atmosphere

Deep hydrogen-helium envelope with photochemical haze

Elemental Composition

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

Surface Characteristics

No solid surface - a thick gas envelope wrapped around a small deep core (a mini-Neptune)
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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