Exoplanet · mini-Neptune
61 Vir b
61 Vir b is a mini-Neptune orbiting the star 61 Vir. Its year lasts 4.22 Earth days. It was discovered in 2009 by the Radial Velocity method.
| Host star | 61 Vir |
|---|---|
| Distance | 27.7 light-years (8.50 pc) |
| Orbital period | 4.22 days |
| Orbital radius | 0.0502 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.120 |
| Radius | 2.11 R⊕ · 0.188 R♃ |
| Mass (minimum) | 5.1 M⊕ · 0.016 M♃ |
| Density | 2.98 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 1,178 K (905 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 319 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery year | 2009 |
| Discovered by | Multiple Observatories |
Habitable zone
Inside the inner edge of the habitable zone: it receives 319 times the light the Earth does, too hot to keep liquid water on its surface.
Its star in the sky
In the planet's sky its star is a disc 10° across: 19 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
Visible to the naked eye under a dark sky (apparent magnitude 4.74). Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 72° N. South of latitude 72° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1998. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 492 thousand years.
Planets in the same system
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.