HAT-P-6
Encyclopedia
HAT-P-6 is a star
in the constellation
Andromeda
, located approximately 650 light years or 200 parsec
s away from the Earth
. It is an F-type star, implying that it is hotter and more massive than our Sun
. The apparent magnitude
of the star is +10.54, which can only be visible through the telescope
. The absolute magnitude
+4.03 is brighter than the Sun’s +4.83, meaning that the star itself is brighter than the Sun.
is a transiting
planet
discovered on October 15, 2007. The planet’s true mass
is slightly more than Jupiter at only 5.7%, but the radius is 33% greater, making the planet’s density of 0.45 g/cm3. Its large size compared to mass comes from the great amount of heat received from the nearby star that expands the planet’s atmosphere, categorizing as "hot Jupiter
". The orbital period is 3.852985 days and the distance from its star is 0.05235 AU. The inclination of the orbit is 85.51º.
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Andromeda
Andromeda (constellation)
Andromeda is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda, the princess in the Greek legend of Perseus who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus...
, located approximately 650 light years or 200 parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s away from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. It is an F-type star, implying that it is hotter and more massive than our Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. The apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
of the star is +10.54, which can only be visible through the telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
. The absolute magnitude
Absolute magnitude
Absolute magnitude is the measure of a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. it is also the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 32.6 light years away from Earth...
+4.03 is brighter than the Sun’s +4.83, meaning that the star itself is brighter than the Sun.
Planetary system
The companion planet HAT-P-6bHAT-P-6b
HAT-P-6b is a transiting extrasolar planet located approximately 650 light-years away in the constellation of Andromeda, orbiting the star HAT-P-6. This hot Jupiter planet orbits with a semi-major axis of about 7.832 gigameters, and takes 92 hours, 28 minutes, 17 seconds and 9 deciseconds to orbit...
is a transiting
Astronomical transit
The term transit or astronomical transit has three meanings in astronomy:* A transit is the astronomical event that occurs when one celestial body appears to move across the face of another celestial body, hiding a small part of it, as seen by an observer at some particular vantage point...
planet
Extrasolar planet
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars...
discovered on October 15, 2007. The planet’s true mass
True mass
The term true mass is synonymous with the term mass, but is used in astronomy to differentiate the measured mass of a planet from the lower limit of mass usually obtained from radial velocity techniques...
is slightly more than Jupiter at only 5.7%, but the radius is 33% greater, making the planet’s density of 0.45 g/cm3. Its large size compared to mass comes from the great amount of heat received from the nearby star that expands the planet’s atmosphere, categorizing as "hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are a class of extrasolar planet whose mass is close to or exceeds that of Jupiter...
". The orbital period is 3.852985 days and the distance from its star is 0.05235 AU. The inclination of the orbit is 85.51º.