Kepler-12 and Its Jupiter-Like Planet

Kepler-12 is a star 2870 light-years away with one known planet. The star is estimated to be 4 billion years old, with a mass of 1.17 solar masses and a radius of 1.48 solar radii. Its temperature is 5950 K. The reported mass and radius estimates are larger than the Sun's, and its reported temperature is hotter than the Sun's.

The planet Kepler-12 b was discovered in 2011 by the transit method, in which a planet passes in front of its star from our viewpoint and causes a small dip in observed brightness. Repeated dips help establish orbital periods. Kepler-12 b is classified as Jupiter-like, a size class for planets exceeding 4 times Earth's radius. It has a mass of 137 Earth masses and a radius of 19.7 Earth radii, both larger than Earth's corresponding values. Its orbital period is 4.44 days. Its mean density is 0.0995 g/cm³, 0.0181 times Earth's.