Astronomical evidence
55 Cancri e orbits its star in less than a day. Its proximity makes the host star subtend a much larger angle than the Sun does from Earth. The saved stellar radius and orbital semimajor axis support that geometric interpretation, with their source uncertainties retained. [1] Webb observations provide evidence for an atmosphere, while its detailed composition and interaction with the hot interior remain subjects of interpretation. [2] The calm rocky foreground and its inhabitant are fictional, and the picture does not imply mild temperatures.
The illustrated viewpoint
Small broad-armored alien with a low fan crest, viewed from behind in meditation. A hypothetical solid-rock boundary landscape on 55 Cancri e. The ground texture, placid glasslike basin, atmospheric haze and being are invented. The real close orbit motivates a very large stellar disk, but this image is not a surface-weather or thermal simulation. No comfortable climate or human survival is implied. The quiet pose and environment do not change the system's extreme irradiation.
The ground texture, placid glasslike basin, atmospheric haze and being are invented. The real close orbit motivates a very large stellar disk, but this image is not a surface-weather or thermal simulation. No comfortable climate or human survival is implied. The quiet pose and environment do not change the system's extreme irradiation. All beings and cultures are fictional. Apparent sizes, phases and exposure are artistic, not a calibrated sky simulation. Cosmic connection is a visual theme, not an observed biological mechanism.
Catalog measurements & sources
Host: 55 Cnc. 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 | 1.875 (+0.029 / -0.029) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Mass · Earth masses | 7.99 (+0.32 / -0.33) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Density · g/cm³ | 6.66 (+0.43 / -0.4) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Orbital period · days | 0.736547 (+1.3e-06 / -1.4e-06) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Orbital semimajor axis · AU | 0.01544 (+5e-05 / -5e-05) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Eccentricity | 0.05 (+0.03 / -0.03) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Inclination · degrees | 83.59 (+0.47 / -0.44) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Irradiation · Earth flux | 2657.83 | ExoFOP |
| Equilibrium temperature · K | 1958 (+15 / -15) | Demory et al. 2011 |
| Stellar effective temperature · K | 5172 (+18 / -18) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Stellar radius · Solar | 0.943 (+0.01 / -0.01) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Stellar mass · Solar | 0.905 (+0.015 / -0.015) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Stellar luminosity · log Solar | -0.19695 (+0.0125 / -0.01039) | Knapp et al. 2020 |
| Stellar age · Gyr | 5.5 (+2.5 / -2.5) | Marcy et al. 2002 |
| Stellar metallicity · dex | 0.35 (+0.1 / -0.1) | Bourrier et al. 2018 |
| Distance · pc | 12.5855 (+0.0124 / -0.0123) | TICv8 |