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Entering orbit…
Habitability
9/ 100
Uninhabitable

Kepler-278 b

Gas GiantUninhabitable1444 light years awayFound 2014

Kepler-278 b, from the NASA Exoplanet Archive (found 2014). Measured: 56 Earth masses, 0.202 AU, a 4965 K K-type star. Composition inferred from a mass of 56 Earths, which is giant territory whatever its 0.90x density suggests, with an assumed 24-hour day — rotation cannot be measured for exoplanets. Note: TerraForge comes out at 901 K against the archive's 586 K, because it models stars by spectral class, and Kepler-278 is not an average K-type.

Host star

Kepler-278

Type
K-type (Orange)
Spectral type
K2 III-IV
Temperature
4,965 K
Radius
2.86 ☉
Mass
1.23 ☉
Known planets
2, including this one
Luminosity
4.46 ☉

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 56.0x 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: 56.0x 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.
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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
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
56.00x Earth (3.34e+26 kg)
Radius
3.83x Earth (24,375 km)
This planet: 3.83× Earth radiusEarth: 1× (baseline)
Surface Gravity
3.83x Earth (37.5 m/s²)
Surface Temperature
901 K (628 °C / 1,162 °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
0.20 AU (30.2 million km)
Orbital Period
40 days

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
The TerraForge exoplanet catalog: 5,572 real exoplanets run through the simulation, with a search field and rendered worlds grouped by type

New: The Exoplanet Catalog 🔭

Every confirmed planet NASA has measured well enough to build — 5,572 of them — is now in here, and none of them arrived with a label. Their real mass, radius, orbit and star go through the same simulation that runs everything you make, and it decides what each one is: gas giant, lava world, ocean, ice. Sixteen come out Earth-like. Find TRAPPIST-1e, stand on its surface, and see what a red dwarf's light actually looks like from the ground.

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