Exoplanet · gas giant
HD 179949 b
HD 179949 b is a gas giant orbiting the star Gumala. Its year lasts 3.09 Earth days. It was discovered in 2000 by the Radial Velocity method.
| Host star | Gumala |
|---|---|
| Distance | 89.6 light-years (27.5 pc) |
| Orbital period | 3.09 days |
| Orbital radius | 0.0443 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.022 |
| Radius | 13.9 R⊕ · 1.24 R♃ |
| Mass (minimum) | 291 M⊕ · 0.916 M♃ |
| Density | 0.596 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 1,591 K (1,317 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 1,020 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery year | 2000 |
| Discovered by | Anglo-Australian Telescope |
Habitable zone
Inside the inner edge of the habitable zone: it receives 1,020 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 15° across: 28 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
Visible to the naked eye under a dark sky (apparent magnitude 6.25). Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 66° N. South of latitude 66° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1936. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 1.6 million years.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.