                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 March 14

                             A Year for K2-315b
   Artist's Illustration Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle, Christine
                                Daniloff, MIT

   Explanation: Want to visit a planet that has 3.14 days in a year? Then
   plan a trip to K2-315b, an earth-sized planet orbiting around a cool,
   red, M dwarf star about once every 3.14 days. The exoplanet's
   discovery, based on publicly available data from the planet-hunting
   Kepler Space Telescope's extended K2 mission, was announced in 2020.
   K2-315b's measured orbital period in days is nearly equal to the
   extremely popular irrational number Pi. That puts the exoplanet so
   close to its parent star that its surface is likely very warm,
   baking-hot in fact. And this Pi planet is over 185 light-years away. So
   instead of trying to arrange for an interstellar vacation to K2-315b,
   there may be easier and more comfortable ways for you to celebrate Pi
   day on planet Earth.

                 Tomorrow's picture: equinox at the pyramid
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

