Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Fischer et al. |
Discovery site | Lick Observatory and Keck Observatory |
Discovery date | 2003 |
Doppler spectroscopy | |
Orbital characteristics [2] | |
0.295±0.029 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.645±0.02 |
62.250±0.004 d | |
243±3 º | |
Semi-amplitude | 16.6±0.6 m/s |
Star | 54 Piscium A |
Physical characteristics [2] | |
Mass | ≥0.228±0.011 MJ |
54 Piscium b (HD 3651 b), occasionally catalogued as 54 Piscium Ab to differentiate from the brown dwarf in the system, is an extrasolar planet [3] [1] approximately 36 light-years away [4] in the constellation of Pisces. It was discovered orbiting the orange dwarf star 54 Piscium. Its minimum mass is one-fifth that of Jupiter, and it orbits the star in a very eccentric orbit about every two months.
On January 16, 2003, a team of astronomers (led by Geoff Marcy) announced the discovery of an extrasolar planet around 54 Piscium using the radial velocity method, [1] a process utilizing the "wobbling" effect that a star may experience if something is tugging on it. The planet has been estimated to have a mass of only 20 percent that of Jupiter (making the planet around the same size and mass of Saturn).
The planet orbits its sun at a distance of 0.28 astronomical units (which would be within the orbit of Mercury), which takes approximately 62 days to complete. The planet has a high eccentricity of about 0.63. The highly elliptical orbit, however, suggested that the gravity of an unseen object farther away from the star was pulling the planet outward. The eccentric orbit became clear with the discovery of the brown dwarf within the system.
The orbit of an Earth-like planet would need to be centered within 0.68 AU [5] (around the orbital distance of Venus), which in a Keplerian system means a 240-day orbital period. In a 2006 simulation with the brown dwarf, 54 Piscium b's orbit "sweeps clean" most test particles within 0.5 AU, leaving only asteroids "in low-eccentricity orbits near the known planet’s apastron distance, near the 1:2 mean-motion resonance". Also, observation has ruled out Neptune-class or heavier planets with a period of one year or less; which still allows for Earth-sized planets at 0.6 AU or more. [6]
HD 74156 is a yellow dwarf star in the constellation of Hydra, 187 light years from the Solar System. It is known to be orbited by two giant planets.
16 Cygni or 16 Cyg is a triple star system approximately 69 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus. It consists of two Sun-like yellow dwarf stars, 16 Cygni A and 16 Cygni B, together with a red dwarf, 16 Cygni C. In 1996 an extrasolar planet was discovered in an eccentric orbit around 16 Cygni B.
54 Piscium is an orange dwarf star approximately 36 light-years away in the constellation of Pisces. In 2003, an extrasolar planet was confirmed to be orbiting the star, and in 2006, a brown dwarf was also discovered orbiting it.
HD 20367 is a star in the constellation of Aries, close to the border with the Perseus constellation. It is a yellow-white hued star that is a challenge to view with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 6.40. Based upon parallax measurements, it is located 85 light years from the Sun. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +6.5 km/s. Based upon its movement through space, it is a candidate member of the Ursa Major Moving Group of co-moving stars that probably share a common origin.
HD 217107 is a yellow subgiant star approximately 65 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Pisces. Its mass is very similar to the Sun's, although it is considerably older. Two planets have been discovered orbiting the star: one is extremely close and completes an orbit every seven days, while the other is much more distant, taking fourteen years to complete an orbit.
An eccentric Jupiter is a Jovian planet that orbits its star in an eccentric orbit. Eccentric Jupiters may disqualify a planetary system from having Earth-like planets in it, because a massive gas giant with an eccentric orbit may eject all Earth mass exoplanets from the habitable zone, if not from the system entirely.
HD 80606 and HD 80607 are two stars comprising a binary star system. They are approximately 217 light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. Both stars orbit each other at an average distance of 1,200 astronomical units. The binary system is listed as Struve 1341 in the Struve Catalogue of Double Stars; however, this designation is not in wide use and the system is usually referred to by the HD designations of its constituent stars. An extrasolar planet has been confirmed to orbit HD 80606 in a highly elliptical orbit.
109 Piscium is a yellow hued G-type main-sequence star located about 108 light-years away in the zodiac constellation of Pisces. It is near the lower limit of visibility to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 6.27. The star is moving closer to the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of −45.5 km/s. It has one known exoplanet.
16 Cygni Bb or HD 186427 b is an extrasolar planet approximately 69 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. The planet was discovered orbiting the Sun-like star 16 Cygni B, one of two solar-mass (M☉) components of the triple star system 16 Cygni in 1996. It orbits its star once every 799 days and was the first eccentric Jupiter and planet in a double star system to be discovered. The planet is abundant in lithium.
HD 159868 is a star in the southern constellation of Scorpius, positioned about 0.3° to the ESE of the bright star Theta Scorpii. With an apparent visual magnitude of +7.24, it is too faint to be visible to the naked eye but can be viewed with a small telescope. The star lies at a distance of 183 light years from the Sun based on parallax, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −24 km/s.
HD 59686 is a binary star system in the northern constellation of Gemini. It is visible to the naked eye as a dim point of light with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.45. The distance to this system is approximately 292 light years based on parallax, but it is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −34 km/s.
HD 114762 b is a small red dwarf star, in the HD 114762 system, formerly thought to be a massive gaseous extrasolar planet, approximately 126 light-years (38.6 pc) away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. This optically undetected companion to the late F-type main-sequence star HD 114762 was discovered in 1989 by Latham, et al., and confirmed in an October 1991 paper by Cochran, et al. It was thought to be the first discovered exoplanet
Gliese 86 is a K-type main-sequence star approximately 35 light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus. It has been confirmed that a white dwarf orbits the primary star. In 1998 the European Southern Observatory announced that an extrasolar planet was orbiting the star.
HD 92788 is a star in the equatorial constellation of Sextans. It has a yellow hue but is too dim to be visible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 7.31. The star is located at a distance of 113 light years from the Sun based on parallax, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −4.5 km/s. Two planets have been found in orbit around the star.
HD 52265 b, formally named Cayahuanca, is a gas giant exoplanet located approximately 98 light-years away in the constellation of Monoceros, orbiting the star HD 52265. The planet has a minimum mass slightly more than that of Jupiter. Mean distance between the planet and the star is half that of Earth from the Sun. It was discovered by both the California and Carnegie Planet Search team and the Geneva Extrasolar Planet Search team independently of each other. By studying the fluctuations of the brightness of a host star, the inclination of the stars equator was determined. This allowed to calculate its true mass, assuming that the planet orbits in the plane of the star's equator.
HD 65216 b is an extrasolar planet located approximately 115 light-years away in the constellation of Carina, orbiting the star HD 65216. This planet was discovered by the Geneva Extrasolar Planet Search Team in 2003. Like most planet candidates so far, it was detected with the radial velocity method.
HD 89744 b is an eccentric Jupiter extrasolar planet orbiting the star HD 89744.
HD 85390 is a star with an exoplanet companion in the southern constellation of Vela. It was given the proper name Natasha by Zambia during the 100th anniversary of the IAU. Natasha means "thank you" in many languages of Zambia. This star is too faint to be seen with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 8.54. It is located at a distance of 109 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 33 km/s.
HD 175167 is a star with an exoplanet companion in the southern constellation of Pavo. It is too faint to be visible with the naked eye at an apparent visual magnitude of 8.01. The system is located at a distance of 232 light-years from the Sun based on parallax measurements, and it is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 5 km/s. It shows a high proper motion, traversing the celestial sphere at an angular rate of 0.190 arcsec yr−1.
HD 7449 is a binary star system about 126 light-years way. The primary star, HD 7449 A, is a main-sequence star belonging to the spectral class F9.5. It is younger than the Sun. The primary star is slightly depleted of heavy elements, having 80% of solar abundance.