Kepler-96 is a Sun-like G-type star (about 1.00 solar masses, 5,690 K, 1.02 solar radii), 123 light-years from Earth. Kepler-96 b is a 8.5-Earth-mass planet, with an orbital period of 16.2 days, discovered in 2014 via transit. The planet was found when it crossed the face of its star, producing periodic dips in brightness that reveal its size and orbital period to space-based photometry. Its low mass makes Kepler-96 b a Neptune- or super-Earth-class world rather than a gas giant. Repeated transit observations constrain the planet's orbital inclination and stellar density, anchoring the system's physical scale.