Kepler-710 b: A Super-Earth in a Distant Star System

Kepler-710 is a star located 4720 light-years from Earth. It has a mass of 0.94 solar masses, which is smaller than the Sun's, and a radius of 0.91 solar radii. Its temperature of 5610 K is cooler than the Sun's, and its age is 4.17 billion years. One planet orbits this host.

That planet, Kepler-710 b, was discovered in 2016 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-710 b completes one orbit every 4.35 days. Its radius is 1.88 Earth radii, larger than Earth's. That radius places it in the Super-Earth class, a size category that extends to 2.5 times Earth's radius and, like all planet size classes, compares radius rather than composition.