HD 102117 b
Encyclopedia
HD 102117 b is a planet that orbits the star
HD 102117
. The planet is a small gas giant
a fifth the size of Jupiter
. It orbits very close to its star, but not in a "torch orbit" like the famous 51 Pegasi b
. It is one of the smallest extrasolar planet
s discovered so far.
In 2004, the Anglo-Australian Planet Search
announced a planet orbiting the star
HD 102117
. A short time later the HARPS team also announced the presence of a planet around this same star
HD 102117
. Both groups detected this planet using the radial velocity method.
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...
HD 102117
HD 102117
HD 102117 is a magnitude 7 yellow dwarf star about 130 light years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus. Although it is cooler than our Sun it is brighter and thus more evolved. This star is too dim to be seen without binoculars or a small telescope.-Planetary system:In 2004, the...
. The planet is a small gas giant
Gas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
a fifth the size of Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
. It orbits very close to its star, but not in a "torch orbit" like the famous 51 Pegasi b
51 Pegasi b
51 Pegasi b , sometimes though unofficially named Bellerophon, is an extrasolar planet approximately 50 light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus...
. It is one of the smallest extrasolar 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...
s discovered so far.
In 2004, the Anglo-Australian Planet Search
Anglo-Australian Planet Search
The Anglo-Australian Planet Search or AAPS is a long-term astronomical survey started in 1998 and continuing to the present. It is being carried out on the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope, AAT, of the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Australia. The purpose of this survey is to catalog planets around...
announced a planet orbiting the star
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...
HD 102117
HD 102117
HD 102117 is a magnitude 7 yellow dwarf star about 130 light years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus. Although it is cooler than our Sun it is brighter and thus more evolved. This star is too dim to be seen without binoculars or a small telescope.-Planetary system:In 2004, the...
. A short time later the HARPS team also announced the presence of a planet around this same star
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...
HD 102117
HD 102117
HD 102117 is a magnitude 7 yellow dwarf star about 130 light years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus. Although it is cooler than our Sun it is brighter and thus more evolved. This star is too dim to be seen without binoculars or a small telescope.-Planetary system:In 2004, the...
. Both groups detected this planet using the radial velocity method.