Exoplanet · gas giant
K2-2016-BLG-0005L b
K2-2016-BLG-0005L b is a gas giant orbiting the star K2-2016-BLG-0005L. Its year lasts 4,700 Earth days. It was discovered in 2023 by the Microlensing method.
| Host star | K2-2016-BLG-0005L |
|---|---|
| Distance | 17,000 light-years (5,200 pc) |
| Orbital period | 12.9 years |
| Orbital radius | 4.16 AU |
| Radius | 13.7 R⊕ · 1.22 R♃ |
| Mass | 350 M⊕ · 1.1 M♃ |
| Density | 0.747 g/cm³ |
| Surface gravity | 1.86 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Microlensing |
| Discovery year | 2023 |
| Discovered by | K2 |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 21.34. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 62° N. South of latitude 62° 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 17 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 301 million years.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.