bet Cnc b
bet Cnc b is a cold gas giant orbiting the K4 III star bet Cnc in the constellation Cancer. It lies about 290 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2014 using the radial velocity method.
Is bet Cnc b in the Habitable Zone?
bet Cnc b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of bet Cnc. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.
Habitable zone of bet Cnc: 22.811–57.473 AU (conservative: 28.894–54.490 AU), per Kopparapu et al. (2014). Earth orbits the Sun at 1 AU.
See the full interactive habitable-zone view in the Exoplanet Explorer app ›
Orbit and Year Length
A year on bet Cnc b — one full orbit around bet Cnc — lasts 605.2 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 1.700 AU. Its orbit is mildly elliptical (eccentricity 0.08).
How Was bet Cnc b Discovered?
bet Cnc b was discovered in 2014 using the radial velocity method, with observations from Bohyunsan Optical Astronomical Observatory.
The radial velocity method measures the subtle wobble of a star caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet, visible as periodic shifts in the star's light spectrum. The size of the wobble reveals the planet's minimum mass.
How Far Away Is bet Cnc b?
bet Cnc b is 290.4 light-years (89.0 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1736. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 5,111,040 years to make the journey.
Earth Similarity Index
The Earth Similarity Index (ESI) scores how physically similar a planet is to Earth, from 0 to 1, based on radius, density, escape velocity and surface temperature. bet Cnc b scores 0.07, ranking #4,809 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: bet Cnc
bet Cnc b belongs to a system of 2 stars; it orbits bet Cnc.
bet Cnc
- Spectral type
- K4 III
- Surface temperature
- 4,092 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.70 M☉
- Radius
- 47.20 R☉
- Luminosity
- 794.3282 L☉
- Age
- 1.9 billion years (Sun: 4.6)
Planetary System
bet Cnc b is the only planet known to orbit bet Cnc so far.
bet Cnc b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 2,479.00 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 605.20 days |
| Orbital distance | 1.700 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.080 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.07 |
| Distance from Earth | 290.4 light-years (89.0 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Cancer |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | Bohyunsan Optical Astronomical Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2014 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2014-05-14. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About bet Cnc b
Is bet Cnc b habitable?
No — bet Cnc b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.
How far away is bet Cnc b?
bet Cnc b is about 290 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cancer. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 5,111,040 years to get there.
How long is a year on bet Cnc b?
One orbit around bet Cnc takes 605.2 Earth days.
Explore bet Cnc b in the app
Browse, filter and compare 6,000+ exoplanets on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch — with habitable-zone views, widgets and offline data.
