Exoplanet · gas giant
UKIRT-2017-BLG-001L b
UKIRT-2017-BLG-001L b is a gas giant orbiting the star UKIRT-2017-BLG-001L. It was discovered in 2018 by the Microlensing method.
| Host star | UKIRT-2017-BLG-001L |
|---|---|
| Distance | 20,500 light-years (6,300 pc) |
| Orbital radius | 4.18 AU |
| Radius | 13.7 R⊕ · 1.22 R♃ |
| Mass | 407 M⊕ · 1.28 M♃ |
| Density | 0.87 g/cm³ |
| Surface gravity | 2.17 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Microlensing |
| Discovery year | 2018 |
| Discovered by | Mauna Kea Observatory |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 19.88. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 61° N. South of latitude 61° 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 21 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 365 million years.
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.