GJ 238 b: A 0.57 Earth Radius Planet Orbiting an M2.5 Dwarf Star at 15.2 pc

Abstract We report the discovery of the transiting planet GJ 238 b, with a radius of 0.566 ± 0.014 R ⊕ (1.064 ± 0.026 times the radius of Mars) and an orbital period of 1.74 days. The transit signal was detected by the TESS mission and designated TOI-486.01. The star’s position close to the southern ecliptic pole allows for almost continuous observations by TESS when it is observing the southern sky. The host star is an M2.5 dwarf with V = 11.57 ± 0.02 mag, K = 7.030 ± 0.023 mag, a distance of 15.2156 ± 0.0030 pc, a mass of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>0.4193</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.0098</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.0095</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> M ☉ , a radius of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>0.4314</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.0071</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.0075</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> R ☉ , and an effective temperature of 3485 ± 140 K. We validate the planet candidate by ruling out or rendering highly unlikely each of the false positive scenarios, based on archival data and ground-based follow-up observations. Validation was facilitated by the host star’s small size and high proper motion of 892.633 ± 0.025 mas yr –1 .