Exoplanet · gas giant
81 Cet b
81 Cet b is a gas giant orbiting the star 81 Cet. Its year lasts 1,010 Earth days. It was discovered in 2008 by the Radial Velocity method.
| Host star | 81 Cet |
|---|---|
| Distance | 330.3 light-years (101.3 pc) |
| Orbital period | 2.75 years |
| Orbital radius | 2.1 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.037 |
| Radius | 13.1 R⊕ · 1.17 R♃ |
| Mass (minimum) | 1,050 M⊕ · 3.31 M♃ |
| Density | 2.57 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 527 K (254 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 13 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery year | 2008 |
| Discovered by | Okayama Astrophysical Observatory |
Habitable zone
Inside the inner edge of the habitable zone: it receives 13 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 2.8° across: 5.3 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
Visible to the naked eye under a dark sky (apparent magnitude 5.65). Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 87° N. It stands highest at midnight in October, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1696. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 5.9 million years.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.