Kepler-167

Kepler-167 is a K-type main-sequence star located about 1,119 light-years (343 pc) away from the Solar System in the constellation of Cygnus. The star has about 78% the mass and 75% the radius of the Sun, and a temperature of 4,884 K (4,611 °C; 8,332 °F). It hosts a system of four known exoplanets. There is also a companion red dwarf star at a separation of about 700 AU, with an estimated orbital period of over 15,000 years.

Planetary system

Kepler-167 is orbited by four known transiting exoplanets, discovered using the Kepler space telescope. The inner three planets are all super-Earths of unknown composition orbiting closer to their star than Mercury is to the Sun. The outermost planet, Kepler-167e, is a Jupiter analog, with 0.91 RJ, 1.01 MJ, and an equilibrium temperature of 134 K (−139 °C; −218 °F). It is the first transiting Jupiter analog discovered.

The inner two planets were confirmed in 2014, as part of a study validating hundreds of Kepler planets, and the outer two planets were confirmed in 2016. Observations of Kepler-167e using the Spitzer Space Telescope, published in 2019, ruled out significant transit timing variations, making it easier to predict future transits and plan follow-up observations. As a rare example of a long-period transiting gas giant, Kepler-167e is a target of interest for further observations, for example to characterize its atmosphere. As of 2022[update], four transits of planet e have been detected, with both space-based and ground-based observations.

In 2025, there was a search of exomoons around the exoplanet Kepler-167e by astronomer David Kipping and his team using JWST with some results but no conclusion was reached.