Astronomical evidence
Kepler-16 b travels around both stars in a binary system. The saved catalog lists an orbital period of 228.776 (+0.020/−0.037) days, a radius of 8.4493 ± 0.0291 Earth radii and a mass of 105.833 ± 5.085 Earth masses. These measurements anchor the immense imagined disk in the sky to a specific real planet. [1] Its discovery combined stellar eclipses, planetary transits and the gravitational dynamics of the system. The planet crosses stars that are themselves moving around a common center of mass; the changing transit timing and duration help reveal an orbit surrounding both. Two separate suns in this painting therefore represent the architecture of the real system, although their pictured positions are artistic. [2] A gas giant offers no solid ground for the illustrated observer. This scene places the foreground on a fictional satellite; NASA has also used an explicitly hypothetical moon to illustrate a local view of Kepler-16 b. Neither such artwork nor this plate establishes that a moon, atmosphere or inhabitable landscape has been detected. [3,4]
The illustrated viewpoint
Nonhumanoid / copper-crowned basalt sentinel. An imagined atmospheric moon of Kepler-16 b, overlooking basalt cliffs and a mist-filled basin. Kepler-16 b and its binary host are real. The foreground is an invented moon, not the surface of the gas giant. The copper-crowned being, basalt terrain, mist and surface reflections are fictional. The giant’s indigo atmosphere, pearl cloud veils and vortices are artistic choices, not an observed cloud map. Apparent sizes, star positions, illumination and phase are composed for the picture rather than calculated for a dated viewpoint.
Kepler-16 b and its binary host are real. The foreground is an invented moon, not the surface of the gas giant. The copper-crowned being, basalt terrain, mist and surface reflections are fictional. The giant’s indigo atmosphere, pearl cloud veils and vortices are artistic choices, not an observed cloud map. Apparent sizes, star positions, illumination and phase are composed for the picture rather than calculated for a dated viewpoint. All beings, civilizations and technology are fictional. No motives, moral alignment or character history is asserted.
Catalog measurements & sources
Host: Kepler-16. Snapshot: 25 September 2026. Errors, limits and source provenance are retained. Calculated values and model estimates are not direct measurements. Unknown is not zero; equilibrium temperature is not surface temperature.
| Quantity / unit | Value / reported errors | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Radius · Earth radii | 8.4493 (+0.0291 / -0.0291) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Mass · Earth masses | 105.833 (+5.085 / -5.085) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Density · g/cm³ | 0.964 (+0.047 / -0.046) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Orbital period · days | 228.776 (+0.02 / -0.037) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Orbital semimajor axis · AU | 0.7048 (+0.0011 / -0.0011) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Eccentricity | 0.0069 (+0.001 / -0.0015) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Inclination · degrees | 90.0322 (+0.0022 / -0.0023) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Irradiation · Earth flux | 0.2517 (+0.0012 / -0.0012) | Calculated Value |
| Equilibrium temperature · K | 205.9 (+6.95 / -6.95) | Calculated Value |
| Stellar effective temperature · K | 4450 (+150 / -150) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Stellar radius · Solar | 0.6489 (+0.0013 / -0.0013) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Stellar mass · Solar | 0.6897 (+0.0035 / -0.0034) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Stellar luminosity · log Solar | -0.90301 (+0.00147 / -0.00148) | Gaia DR2 |
| Stellar age · Gyr | 3.8 (+3.7 / -3.7) | Q1-Q8 KOI Table |
| Stellar metallicity · dex | -0.3 (+0.2 / -0.2) | Doyle et al. 2011 |
| Distance · pc | 75.0852 (+0.1541 / -0.1536) | TICv8 |