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Entering orbit…
Habitability
9/ 100
Uninhabitable
Wolf 359 c rendered in TerraForge from its measured mass, orbit and star

Wolf 359 c

Also written Wolf 359c

Sub-NeptuneUninhabitable8 light years awayFound 2019
exoplanet.euListed by the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia; not yet in NASA's confirmed catalogue.View on exoplanet.eu

Estimated: this planet doesn't transit its star, so its size is inferred, not measured

Wolf 359 c, from the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (found 2019). Measured: 3.81 Earth masses, 0.018 AU, a 3200 K M-type star. Composition inferred from a estimated bulk density of 0.68x Earth's, modeled rather than measured since this isn't a transiting planet, too low for bare rock at this size, suggesting a rocky core under roughly a 1% hydrogen/helium envelope by mass, with a day locked to its 2.7-day year, as anything orbiting this close would be.

Host star

Wolf 359

Type
M-type (Red Dwarf)
Spectral type
M6V
Temperature
3,200 K
Known planets
1 (this one)

Published by the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. This star’s luminosity has not been published, so this world’s temperature and habitability score fall back to a typical M-type star.

Gas Dwarf

Life unlikely — too hot for liquid waterMagnetic FieldLow Activity
Why is this a Gas Dwarf?
Wolf 359 c 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: 3.8x EarthTemperature: 940K

Reading Wolf 359 c’s atmosphere

Dominant elements: O, Si, Fe, N, C, HThis is what a telescope would measure while Wolf 359 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.Wolf 359 c sits about 8 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.
Further reading
ExoplanetsSara Seager (editor)The field's standard reference: how planets are found, how they form, and what their atmospheres are made of.The Planet FactoryElizabeth TaskerHow planets are made, and why so few of them come out like Earth.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.
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Habitability ScoreUninhabitable
9
Contributing Factors
temperature5
Scorching - hot enough to melt lead, though rock stays solid; no chance for 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
geology60
Some geological activity provides slow nutrient cycling
Organic Chemistry80
Core organic elements (CHNO) present
rotation65
Slow rotation - significant day/night temperature variations, but life can adapt

Physical Properties

Mass
3.81x Earth (2.28e+25 kg)
Radius
1.56x Earth (9,951 km)
This planet: 1.56× Earth radiusEarth: 1× (baseline)
Surface Gravity
1.56x Earth (15.3 m/s²)
Surface Temperature
940 K (667 °C / 1,233 °F)
Rotation Period
64.6 hours/day (slower than Earth)
This planet: 65 h/dayEarth: 24 h/day

Orbital Environment

Star Type
M-type (Red Dwarf)
Distance from Star
0.02 AU (2.69 million km)
Orbital Period
2 days
Time Dilation
Clocks run 7.8 seconds per year slower than deep space — about 10 minutes over a lifetime

Atmosphere

Deep hydrogen-helium envelope with photochemical haze

Elemental Composition

O - Oxygen
31.3%
Si - Silicon
25.0%
Fe - Iron
12.5%

Surface Characteristics

No solid surface - a hydrogen-helium envelope wrapped around a rocky core (a sub-Neptune)
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The surface of TOI-700 d as TerraForge draws it: red-leaved trees over green ground under a lavender sky

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