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CONFIRMED EXOPLANET · Neptune-like

GJ 1214 b

GJ 1214 b orbits the star GJ 1214, 47.8 light-years from Earth. It completes an orbit in 1.58 Earth days.

DISCOVERED 2009 · Transit

Get to know this world ↓
Artist’s impression of GJ 1214 b. Appearance is interpretive, not an observed surface.
ARTIST’S IMPRESSION
Neptune-likePlanet type

Size-based classification; composition may be uncertain.

2.73 × Earth’s radiusSize

Around 173% wider than Earth.

1.58 daysYear length

Time to complete one orbit.

47.8 light-yearsDistance

Its light travels for roughly 48 years to reach us.

2009Discovered

Transit

SIZE IN PERSPECTIVE
Earth
1 Earth radius
GJ 1214 b
2.73 Earth radii
Radius comparison · silhouettes only, not surface appearance.
A YEAR, REIMAGINED

1.58 Earth days

Earth 365.25 daysGJ 1214 b 0.0043 Earth years

This is how long the planet takes to complete one orbit around its star.

Overview

GJ 1214 b is one of the confirmed worlds in the NASA Exoplanet Archive. Recorded as discovered in 2009. The credited discovery facility is MEarth Project. Its Transit evidence gives us a way to study a planet that is usually too faint to see directly.

Its recorded radius is 2.73 times Earth's radius. Size is useful for comparison, but it cannot establish surface conditions by itself.

The planet

The archive lists a mass or minimum-mass value of 8.41 Earth masses (Mass). Radius: 2.73 Earth radii.

Mass and radius constrain possible interiors; multiple compositions can fit a given set of measurements.

Orbit & year

A year here lasts 1.58 Earth days. Its recorded semi-major axis is 0.015 AU. One AU is roughly the Earth–Sun distance.

Eccentricity: 0.006. Zero describes a circular orbit; increasing values describe more elongated ellipses.

Host star

GJ 1214 · M4 V.

Effective temperature: 3,101 K.

Mass: 0.18 times the Sun’s mass.

Planetary system

1 confirmed planets are stored for this star.

GJ 1214 b · 1.58-day orbit

Discovery

Reported discovery year: 2009. Method: Transit. Facility: MEarth Project.

First stored in this atlas: 04/10/2026. This is an ingestion date, not a confirmation date.

How these methods work ↗

Potential habitability

The data here does not establish habitability, liquid water, or life. An appropriate atmosphere and many other conditions would be needed.

The listed equilibrium temperature is 567 K. This is an estimated energy-balance temperature, not a measured surface temperature.

Understand the habitable zone ↗

What do we actually know?

Observed

The underlying light, motion or timing signal. Usually not a photograph of the planet.

Measured

Parameters derived from observations, with instrument and model uncertainty.

Calculated

Our light-year conversion and browsing class are calculated from archive values.

Estimated

Equilibrium temperature is an energy-balance estimate, not surface weather.

Inferred

Possible composition depends on models and may not be unique.

Unknown

Surface conditions and the presence of life are not established here.

Measured signals are interpreted through models. The archive’s composite table combines published values and may include calculated estimates. Values do not necessarily form one self-consistent solution.

Radius and mass can be estimated or inferred, orbital period comes from recurring observations, and size classification is calculated by this site. Atmospheric and surface conditions remain unknown unless established by specific observations.

Consult the archive for individual parameter references and uncertainty intervals before scientific use.

Scientific data

Radius2.733 Earth radii
Mass / minimum mass8.41 Earth masses (Mass)
Orbital period1.5804 Earth days
Semi-major axis0.01505 AU
Eccentricity0.0062
Equilibrium temperature567 K · estimated, not surface temperature
Host star temperature3,101 K
Host star mass0.182 Solar masses
Host star radius0.2162 Solar radii
Distance14.6427 parsecs
Discovery year2,009
Discovery methodTransit
Discovery facilityMEarth Project
Discovery publication2009-12
Stellar spectral typeM4 V

Uncertainties and parameter provenance

Archive uncertainty ranges and published references, where available. A missing uncertainty does not imply an exact value.

ParameterUncertainty / source
Radius+0.033 / -0.031Mahajan et al. 2024
Mass / minimum mass+0.36 / -0.35Mahajan et al. 2024
Orbital period+0 / -0Mahajan et al. 2024
Equilibrium temperature+7.6 / -7.6Mahajan et al. 2024

Sources

ARTIST’S IMPRESSION

Hypothetical high cloud and haze; no surface is shown.

Commissioned for Worlds Beyond using image generation. Appearance is interpretive. Image policy and credits.

NASA Exoplanet Archive · Planetary Systems Composite Parameters (PSCompPars).

Open the scientific archive record ↗

Last changed in this atlas: 04/10/2026, 11:39:41. Read our methodology.

Spotted something wrong? Report an error ↗

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