Kepler-70b (a.k.a. KOI-55) could well be another circle of hell with an average temperature hotter than the Sun’s surface. It used to be Jupiter-sized until it spent some time inside its now-dead star…a trip that destroys most planets, but left this one a Freddy Krueger-like burned world smaller than Earth. At about 12,000 degrees F (6,800 C), it is one of the hottest planets discovered. In fact, the planet itself is evaporating, soon to be another victim.

KOI-55 b is a terrestrial exoplanet that orbits a B-type star. Its mass is 0.44 Earths, it takes 0.2 days to complete one orbit of its star, and is 0.006 AU from its star. Its discovery was announced in 2011.

PLANET TYPE
Terrestrial
DISCOVERY DATE
2011
MASS
0.44 Earths
PLANET RADIUS
0.759 x Earth
ORBITAL RADIUS
0.006 AU
ORBITAL PERIOD
0.2 days
ECCENTRICITY
0.0
DETECTION METHOD
Orbital Brightness Modulation