Kepler-296 and Its Five Super-Earths

Kepler-296 is an M2 V star, a small, cool red dwarf. Its reported mass estimate is 0.454 solar masses and its reported radius estimate is 0.426 solar radii, both smaller than the Sun's. The star's reported temperature is 3570 K, cooler than the Sun's, and its age is 4.2 billion years. Five planets are known to orbit this host.

All five planets are classified as Super-Earths and were discovered by transit in 2014, the same method that revealed the whole set. In a transit, a planet passes in front of its star from our viewpoint, causing a small dip in observed brightness; repeated dips help establish orbital periods.

Kepler-296 c has an orbital period of 5.84 days and a radius of 2 Earth radii. Kepler-296 b has an orbital period of 10.9 days and a radius of 1.61 Earth radii. Kepler-296 d has an orbital period of 19.9 days and a radius of 2.09 Earth radii. Kepler-296 e has an orbital period of 34.1 days and a radius of 1.53 Earth radii. Kepler-296 f has an orbital period of 63.3 days and a radius of 1.8 Earth radii. Every one of these reported radius estimates is larger than Earth's.

Among the listed planets, Kepler-296 c has the shortest year by reported estimates, while Kepler-296 f has the longest. Kepler-296 b has the second-shortest year, and Kepler-296 e has the second-longest. Kepler-296 e also has the smallest radius among the listed planets, while Kepler-296 d has the largest. Kepler-296 b has the second-smallest radius, and Kepler-296 c has the second-largest.