XO-4
Encyclopedia
XO-4 is a star
located approximately 956 light-years away from Earth
in the Lynx
constellation
. It has a magnitude
of about 11 and cannot be seen with the naked eye but is visible through a small telescope
.
, which is classified as a hot jupiter
, orbits XO-4. This exoplanet was discovered in 2008 by the XO Telescope
project using the transit 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...
located approximately 956 light-years away from 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...
in the Lynx
Lynx (constellation)
Lynx is a constellation in the northern sky, introduced in the 17th century by Johannes Hevelius. It is named after the lynx, a genus of cat. It is a very faint constellation; its brightest stars form a zigzag line.-History:...
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....
. It has a 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 about 11 and cannot be seen with the naked eye but is visible through a small 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...
.
Planetary system
One known exoplanet, XO-4bXO-4b
XO-4b is an extrasolar planet approximately 956 light years away in the constellation of Lynx. This planet was found by the transit method by McCullough in May 2008. The planet has mass 1.72 MJ and radius 1.34 RJ...
, which is classified as a hot jupiter
Hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are a class of extrasolar planet whose mass is close to or exceeds that of Jupiter...
, orbits XO-4. This exoplanet was discovered in 2008 by the XO Telescope
XO Telescope
The XO Telescope is a telescope located on the 3,054 m summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii, formed by a pair of 200 mm telephoto lenses. It is used to detect extrasolar planets using the transit method. It is similar to the TrES survey telescope...
project using the transit method.