L 98-59
system
L 98-59 is a red dwarf 34.6 light-years away in Volans with a remarkable family of FIVE planets. The three innermost transit, so their sizes and densities are measured — among them one of the smallest exoplanets ever weighed, at about half Earth's mass — and the system is a leading target for JWST's search for atmospheres. The outer two are radial-velocity detections (minimum masses).
Open in 3D viewSee L 98-59 in the live, interactive 3D map
Key facts
Type
Red dwarf + 5 planets
Distance
34.6 light-years
Confirmed planets
5
Notable
3 transiting; a JWST target
Science
Classification
- Type
- Single red-dwarf system
- Central star
- L 98-59 — M3V red dwarf (~3415 K, 0.29 M☉)
Planets
- Confirmed planets
- 5 · b, c, d transit; e, f RV
- Measured
- b/c/d have real sizes + densities
- JWST
- A leading target for exoplanet atmosphere studies
Distance
- Distance
- 34.6 light-years · in Volans
How we know
- Note
- Five confirmed planets (NASA Exoplanet Archive, checked 2026-07-07): b, c, d transit (real sizes + densities); e (2021) and f (2025) are radial-velocity, so their masses are minimums and sizes are estimates. Map distance is symbolic; the real gap is 34.6 light-years.
Discovery & history
- Name
- A Luyten proper-motion designation (L 98-59); also TOI-175.
TESS found three transiting planets in 2019; ESPRESSO measured their masses and added a fourth (2021) and a habitable-zone fifth (by 2025).
Images
Images from open archives · credit shown per image