Surface planetary habitability is thought to require an orbit at the right distance from the host star for liquid surface water to be present, in addition to various geophysical and geodynamical aspects, atmospheric density, radiation type and intensity, and the host star's plasma environment.[2]
This is a list of confirmed exoplanets within the circumstellar habitable zone that are either under 10 Earth masses or smaller than 2.5 Earth radii and thus have a chance of being rocky.[1][3] Note that inclusion on this list does not guarantee habitability, and in particular the larger planets are less likely to have a rocky composition and more likely to be mini-Neptunes.[4] Earth is included for both comparison and reference, while Venus and Mars are included for reference only.
Note that mass and radius values prefixed with "~" have not been measured, but are predicted from a mass–radius relationship.
This is a list of notable exoplanets within the circumstellar habitable zone that are either under 10 Earth masses or smaller than 2.5 Earth radii and have not yet been confirmed. Earth is included for both comparison and reference, while Venus and Mars are included for reference only.
Several other planets, such as Gliese 180 b, also appear to be examples of planets once considered potentially habitable but later found to be interior to the habitable zone.[1] Similarly, Tau Ceti e[lower-alpha 1], HD 85512 b and Kepler-69c were thought to be likely habitable,[91] but with improved models of the circumstellar habitable zone, PHL does not consider it potentially habitable.[1]Kepler-438b was also initially considered potentially habitable; however, it was later found to be a subject of powerful flares that can strip a planet of its atmosphere, so it is now considered non-habitable.[1]
K2-3d and K2-18b were originally considered potentially habitable, and the latter remains listed in the HWC,[1] but recent studies have shown them to be gaseous sub-Neptune rather than being the Hycean planet and thus unlikely to be habitable.[92][93][94][95][96][97]
Kepler-1638b was thought to be a possibly habitable planet with a radius smaller than 2 R🜨 after the validation. However based on the later measurement of host star parallax by Gaia, the radius of the planet was revised upward to 3.226+0.201 −0.315R🜨, meaning it is more likely an ice giant like Neptune with poor prospect for habitability.[98][99]
KOI-1686.01 was also considered a potentially habitable exoplanet after its detection in 2011, until proven a false positive by NASA in 2015.[100] Several other KOIs, like Kepler-577b and Kepler-1649b, were considered potentially habitable prior to confirmation, but with new data are no longer considered habitable.
TRAPPIST-1 d was considered to be potentially habitable until JWST/NIRSpec data found little evidence for an atmosphere with Earth-like surface pressure, highly likely ruling out habitability.[101]
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↑ 9.09.1Turner, Daisy A. et al. (2025). "The mass of the exo-Venus Gliese 12 b, as revealed by HARPS-N, ESPRESSO, and CARMENES". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society545 (1). doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1703. Bibcode: 2026MNRAS.545f1703T.
↑Dholakia, Shishir; Palethorpe, Larissa; Venner, Alexander; Mortier, Annelies; Wilson, Thomas G.; Huang, Chelsea X.; Rice, Ken; Van Eylen, Vincent et al. (2024-05-21), "Gliese 12 b, A Temperate Earth-sized Planet at 12 Parsecs Discovered with TESS and CHEOPS", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society531 (1): 1276, doi:10.1093/mnras/stae1152, Bibcode: 2024MNRAS.531.1276D
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↑ 21.021.1Dreizler, S.; Jeffers, S. V.; Liebing, F.; Gorrini, P.; Haswell, C. A.; Gaidos, E.; Barnes, J. R.; Sordo, F. Del et al. (2025-04-15). "RedDots: Planetary masses in the GJ 1061 system from planet-planet interaction". Astronomy & Astrophysics698: A114. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452490. Bibcode: 2025A&A...698A.114D.
↑Stefanov, A. K.; Mascareño, A. Suárez; Hernández, J. I. González; Nari, N.; Rebolo, R.; Affer, L.; Micela, G.; Ribas, I. et al. (2025-02-06). "HADES RV Programme with HARPS-N at TNG. XVI. A super-Earth in the habitable zone of the GJ 3998 multi-planet system". Astronomy & Astrophysics695: A62. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452630. ISSN0004-6361. Bibcode: 2025A&A...695A..62S.
↑Barclay, Thomas; Quintana, Elisa V; Adams, Fred C; Ciardi, David R; Huber, Daniel; Foreman-Mackey, Daniel; Montet, Benjamin T; Caldwell, Douglas (2015). "The Five Planets in the Kepler-296 Binary System All Orbit the Primary: A Statistical and Analytical Analysis". The Astrophysical Journal809 (1): 7. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/809/1/7. Bibcode: 2015ApJ...809....7B.
↑Cadieux, Charles; Doyon, René; MacDonald, Ryan J.; Turbet, Martin; Artigau, Étienne; Lim, Olivia; Radica, Michael; Fauchez, Thomas J. et al. (2024-06-21). "Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Exoplanet LHS 1140 b with JWST/NIRISS". The Astrophysical Journal970 (1): L2. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad5afa. Bibcode: 2024ApJ...970L...2C.
↑Harakawa, Hiroki et al. (2022). "A super-Earth orbiting near the inner edge of the habitable zone around the M4.5 dwarf Ross 508". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan74 (4): 904–922. doi:10.1093/pasj/psac044. Bibcode: 2022PASJ...74..904H.
↑ 53.053.1Dransfield, Georgina; Timmermans, Mathilde; Triaud, Amaury H. M. J.; Dévora-Pajares, Martín; Aganze, Christian; Barkaoui, Khalid; Burgasser, Adam J.; Collins, Karen A. et al. (2024-01-01). "A 1.55 R⊕ habitable-zone planet hosted by TOI-715, an M4 star near the ecliptic South Pole". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society527 (1): 35–52. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1439. ISSN0035-8711. Bibcode: 2024MNRAS.527...35D.
↑Fukui, Akihiko et al. (2022). "TOI-2285b: A 1.7 Earth-radius planet near the habitable zone around a nearby M dwarf". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan74: L1–L8. doi:10.1093/pasj/psab106.
↑Barkaoui, Khalid et al. (2025). "TOI-7166 b: A Habitable Zone mini-Neptune planet around a nearby low-mass star". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society544 (2): 2637–2652. doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1807.
↑Glidden, Ana et al. (10 September 2025). "JWST-TST DREAMS: Secondary Atmosphere Constraints for the Habitable Zone Planet TRAPPIST-1 e". The Astrophysical Journal Letters990 (2): L53. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/adf62e. Bibcode: 2025ApJ...990L..53G.
↑ 65.065.1Feng, Fabo et al. (8 January 2020). "Search for Nearby Earth Analogs. II. Detection of Five New Planets, Eight Planet Candidates, and Confirmation of Three Planets around Nine Nearby M Dwarfs". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series246 (1): 11. doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ab5e7c. Bibcode: 2020ApJS..246...11F.
↑Venner, Alexander; Vanderburg, Andrew; Huang, Chelsea X.; Dholakia, Shishir; Schwengeler, Hans Martin; Howell, Steve B.; Wittenmyer, Robert A.; Kristiansen, Martti H. et al. (2026). "A Cool Earth-sized Planet Candidate Transiting a Tenth Magnitude K-dwarf from K2". The Astrophysical Journal Letters997 (2): L38. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/adf06f.
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↑Jeffers, S. V.; Dreizler, S.; Barnes, J. R.; Haswell, C. A.; Nelson, R. P.; Rodríguez, E.; López-González, M. J.; Morales, N. et al. (2020), "A multiple planet system of super-Earths orbiting the brightest red dwarf star GJ887", Science368 (6498): 1477–1481, doi:10.1126/science.aaz0795, PMID32587019, Bibcode: 2020Sci...368.1477J
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↑Robertson, Paul; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Endl, Michael; Roy, Arpita (3 July 2014). "Stellar activity masquerading as planets in the habitable zone of the M dwarf Gliese 581". Science345 (6195): 440–444. doi:10.1126/science.1253253. PMID24993348. Bibcode: 2014Sci...345..440R.
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