K2-72c is a smallexoplanet orbiting around thered dwarfstarK2-72 approximately 227.7light-years away. It is located in the inner edge of the habitable zone.[2] K2-72c completes an orbit in 15.2days, and it has a radius of only 86% of that of theEarth.
The planet orbits a (M-type)red dwarfstar namedK2-72, orbited by a total of four planets, of whichK2-72e has the longest orbital period. The star has a mass of 0.27M☉ and a radius of 0.33R☉. It has a temperature of 3360K and its age is unknown. In comparison, theSun is 4.6 billion years old[3] and has a surface temperature of 5778 K.[4]
The star'sapparent magnitude, or how bright it appears from Earth's perspective, is 15.309. Therefore, it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye and can only be observed with a telescope.
The planet, along with the other three planets in the K2-72 system, were announced in mid-July 2016 as part of the new results from the second mission of theKepler spacecraft.
