Kepler-186f
Position on the route: 42/45 · level needed 2000 · journey (Mk0 engine) 410.1 h
By the numbers
| Distance | 580 light-years |
|---|---|
| Star | M dwarf, half the Sun |
| Radius | 1.17 Earth |
| Year | 130 days |
| Light received | a third of Earth’s |
| Discovery | 2014, Kepler telescope |
The story
The first Earth-sized planet found in another star’s habitable zone (2014). The Kepler telescope caught it dimming its star by less than a thousandth as it crossed the disc; watching 150,000 stars for four years, that observatory found more than 2,700 planets.
It receives about a third of the energy Earth gets from the Sun, a position like Mars. With a thick atmosphere and greenhouse effect liquid water is possible. Plants there would need different pigments for photosynthesis in the star’s red light; the sky would always be the colour of sunset.
At 580 light-years its atmosphere is beyond today’s telescopes. In the game it stands for the farthest habitable world one might reach ‘some day’.
Missions
- Kepler space telescope (2009–2018): discovery
Colony note
A distant habitable world. Special greenhouses for farming under red light; the long journey needs cryo sleep.
What probes bring back
- A third of Earth’s light; liquid water possible with a thick atmosphere.
- Radius 1.17 Earth; probably rocky.