Exoplanet · Neptune-like planet
HD 90156 b
HD 90156 b is a Neptune-like planet orbiting the star HD 90156. Its year lasts 49.8 Earth days. It was discovered in 2011 by the Radial Velocity method.
| Host star | HD 90156 |
|---|---|
| Distance | 71.6 light-years (21.9 pc) |
| Orbital period | 49.8 days |
| Orbital radius | 0.25 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.310 |
| Radius | 4.43 R⊕ · 0.395 R♃ |
| Mass (minimum) | 18 M⊕ · 0.0566 M♃ |
| Density | 1.14 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 518 K (245 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 11.5 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery year | 2011 |
| Discovered by | La Silla Observatory |
Habitable zone
Inside the inner edge of the habitable zone: it receives 11.5 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° across: 3.7 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
Too faint for the naked eye (magnitude 6.92); binoculars will find it. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 60° N. South of latitude 60° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in February, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1954. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 1.3 million years.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.