K2-349 b: An Earth-Like World in a Distant System

K2-349 is a star located 1480 light-years away, and it hosts one known planet. The star's reported mass estimate is smaller than the Sun's, at 0.54 solar masses, while its reported radius estimate is smaller than the Sun's, at 0.49 solar radii. With a reported temperature of 4390 K, the star is cooler than the Sun.

The planet, K2-349 b, was discovered in 2021 by the transit method, in which a planet passes in front of its star from our viewpoint, causing a small dip in observed brightness. Repeated dips help establish orbital periods. K2-349 b completes an orbit every 9.03 days and has a radius of 1.38 Earth radii, larger than Earth's. That radius places it within the Earth-like size class, which stays within 1.5 times Earth's radius.