Exoplanet · gas giant
HD 99109 b
HD 99109 b is a gas giant orbiting the star Shama. Its year lasts 439 Earth days. It was discovered in 2005 by the Radial Velocity method.
| Host star | Shama |
|---|---|
| Distance | 178.7 light-years (54.8 pc) |
| Orbital period | 439 days |
| Orbital radius | 1.11 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.090 |
| Radius | 14.3 R⊕ · 1.28 R♃ |
| Mass (minimum) | 140 M⊕ · 0.44 M♃ |
| Density | 0.263 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 239 K (-34 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 0.547 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery year | 2005 |
| Discovered by | W. M. Keck Observatory |
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 0.47° across: 0.88 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 9.10. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 88° N. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1847. 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.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.