HD 20782 b
Encyclopedia
HD 20782 b is an extrasolar planet
located approximately 117 light-year
s away in the constellation
of Fornax
, orbiting the star
HD 20782
. This planet orbits in a highly eccentric orbit with a semi-major axis
of 1.36 AU
. The planet's extremely high eccentricity is comparable to that of HD 80606 b
. It was discovered by Jones et al. on March 14, 2006.
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...
located approximately 117 light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away 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....
of Fornax
Fornax
Fornax is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for furnace. It was created in the 18th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations.-History:Fornax was formed by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756...
, 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 20782
HD 20782
HD 20782 is a 7th magnitude G-type main sequence star about 117 light-years away in the constellation of Fornax. HD 20782 is a part of a wide binary system with HD 20781, both stars host a planetary system. This is the first known case of planetary systems around both stars, the primary and...
. This planet orbits in a highly eccentric orbit with a semi-major axis
Semi-major axis
The major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter, a line that runs through the centre and both foci, its ends being at the widest points of the shape...
of 1.36 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
. The planet's extremely high eccentricity is comparable to that of HD 80606 b
HD 80606 b
HD 80606 b is a superjovian planet 190 light-years distant in the constellation of Ursa Major. The planet was discovered orbiting the star Struve 1341 B in April 2001 by a team led by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. Based on its mass, at 4 times that of Jupiter, it is a gas giant...
. It was discovered by Jones et al. on March 14, 2006.