Kepler-62e

Kepler-62e is one of the most famous planets in Lisa Kaltenegger’s career. In 2013, she led the team that modeled its potential climate and composition, identifying it as one of the first truly promising candidates for a “Water World.” It is located approximately 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Lyra.

Key Physical Characteristics

  • Planet Type: Terrestrial (rocky) Super-Earth.
  • Size: It is about 1.6 times the radius of Earth.
  • Orbit: It completes one orbit around its star every 122 Earth days.
  • The Star: Kepler-62 is a K-type orange dwarf. These stars are slightly smaller and cooler than our Sun but are much more stable than red dwarfs, making them excellent “Goldilocks stars” for life.

Habitability & Environment

Kaltenegger’s 2013 study (and her 2026 update) highlights Kepler-62e as a primary candidate for a world covered entirely by water:

  • Energy Intake: It receives about 1.2 times the starlight that Earth gets from the Sun. This puts it on the warmer inner edge of the habitable zone.
  • The “Water World” Model: Because of its size and the way it formed, Kaltenegger proposed that it might not have any continents at all. Instead, it could be a global ocean hundreds of kilometers deep.
  • Climate: If it has an Earth-like atmosphere, it would be a very humid, cloudy, and warm world—think of a global tropical paradise with no land.

Scientific Significance

  • A Career Milestone: This planet (along with its sibling 62f) was a breakthrough for Kaltenegger, proving that we could find and model worlds that are similar to Earth but fundamentally different in their geography.
  • Atmospheric Resilience: Because it orbits an orange dwarf, it is protected from the violent radiation that often strips the air from planets orbiting red dwarfs. This gives any potential life billions of years to evolve in a stable environment.
  • Discovery: It was discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope using the transit method. Its large size and 122-day orbit made it a very “clear” and reliable discovery.

Published @ March 24, 2026 9:41 am