Exoplanet · gas giant
HD 159868 b
HD 159868 b is a gas giant orbiting the star HD 159868. Its year lasts 1,180 Earth days. It was discovered in 2006 by the Radial Velocity method.
| Host star | HD 159868 |
|---|---|
| Distance | 182.2 light-years (55.9 pc) |
| Orbital period | 3.24 years |
| Orbital radius | 2.32 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.024 |
| Radius | 13.3 R⊕ · 1.19 R♃ |
| Mass (minimum) | 705 M⊕ · 2.22 M♃ |
| Density | 1.65 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 256 K (-17 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 0.668 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery year | 2006 |
| Discovered by | Anglo-Australian Telescope |
Habitable zone
Inside its star's habitable zone: it receives enough light for liquid water to exist on its surface under a suitable atmosphere.
Its star in the sky
In the planet's sky its star is a disc 0.49° across: 0.92 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
Too faint for the naked eye (magnitude 7.24); binoculars will find it. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 47° N. South of latitude 47° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1844. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 3.2 million years.
Planets in the same system
- HD 159868 c 351-day orbit · 14 R⊕
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.