Astronomical evidence
WD 1856+534 b passes in front of a white dwarf every 1.4079405 ± 0.0000011 days. White dwarfs are compact stellar remnants. The combination of a giant planet and a small host produces a distinctive transit geometry, and the close present orbit raises questions about the planet’s history after the host’s red-giant phase. [1,2] A 2026 JWST analysis reports an atmosphere containing hydrocarbons and aerosols, with thermal emission from the planetary nightside. Its spectral models constrain the mass to 4.3–10.9 Jupiter masses. These are model-dependent atmospheric constraints, not a direct weighing of the planet. [3] The saved composite table retains an older entry of 4386.054 Earth masses without an upper-limit flag. That discovery-era value should be read as an old upper constraint, not an exact measured mass. The newer study is identified separately so the differing provenance remains visible. [1,2,3]
The illustrated viewpoint
Humanoid / translucent four-eyed remnant king. An invented distant orbital enclosure aligned near a transit in the WD 1856+534 system. The planet-to-star size contrast is central: the giant can hide its compact white dwarf host. The picture chooses a fictional near-contact viewing geometry; it is not an observed epoch. Atmospheric edging, exposure and protection are invented. The narrow white light is exposed stellar disk, not a black-hole accretion ring. The terraces and enhanced starfield are invented components of the habitat view.
The planet-to-star size contrast is central: the giant can hide its compact white dwarf host. The picture chooses a fictional near-contact viewing geometry; it is not an observed epoch. Atmospheric edging, exposure and protection are invented. The narrow white light is exposed stellar disk, not a black-hole accretion ring. The terraces and enhanced starfield are invented components of the habitat view. All beings, civilizations and technology are fictional. No motives, moral alignment or character history is asserted.
Catalog measurements & sources
Host: WD 1856+534. 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 | 10.4 (+1 / -1) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Mass · Earth masses | 4386.05 | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Density · g/cm³ | 21.4 | Calculated Value |
| Orbital period · days | 1.40794 (+1.1e-06 / -1.1e-06) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Orbital semimajor axis · AU | 0.0204 (+0.0012 / -0.0012) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Eccentricity | 0 | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Inclination · degrees | 88.778 (+0.059 / -0.059) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Irradiation · Earth flux | 0.181 (+0.018 / -0.018) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Equilibrium temperature · K | 163 (+14 / -18) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Stellar effective temperature · K | 4710 (+60 / -60) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Stellar radius · Solar | 0.0131 (+0.00054 / -0.00054) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Stellar mass · Solar | 0.518 (+0.055 / -0.055) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Stellar luminosity · log Solar | -4.12 | Calculated Value |
| Stellar age · Gyr | 7.93 (+2.07 / -2.08) | Vanderburg et al. 2020 |
| Stellar metallicity · dex | Unknown | Not supplied |
| Distance · pc | 24.7359 (+0.0435 / -0.0433) | TICv8 |