K2-38b
K2-38b, also designated EPIC 204221263 b, is a massive rocky exoplanet closely orbiting a Sun-like star and is one of the densest planets ever found. Discovered in 2016 by Crossfield et al. and later characterized by Sinukoff et al., K2-38b is a rocky super-Earth about 55% larger than Earth (nearly 20,000 km wide) but about 12 times more massive (around 7.2*10^25 kg, a bit less than Uranus) indicating a composition rich in iron and an extremely high surface gravity. The planet is within K2 Campaign 2, in the constellation Scorpius.
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovery site | Kepler Space Observatory |
| Discovery date | 2016 |
| Transit | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 0.04994+0.00048 −0.00049 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.197+0.067 −0.060 |
| 4.01593 (± 0.0005) d | |
| Inclination | 88.36 +0.17 −0.15 |
| Star | K2-38 |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 1.54±0.14 R🜨 |
| Mass | 7.3+1.1 −1.0 MEarth |
Mean density | 11.0+5.8 −3.7 g cm−3 |
| 3.08+1.2 −0.74 g | |
| Temperature | 1,266 K (993 °C; 1,819 °F) |
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