Xi Aquilae
Encyclopedia
Xi Aquilae is a yellow giant star
approximately 204 light-year
s away in the constellation
of Aquila
. As of 2008, an extrasolar planet
has been confirmed to be orbiting the star.
planet
orbiting at 0.68 AU
, designated as Xi Aquilae b
.
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...
approximately 204 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 Aquila
Aquila (constellation)
Aquila is a stellar constellation. Its name is Latin for 'eagle' and it is commonly represented as such. In mythology, Aquila was owned by the Roman god Jupiter and performed many tasks for him....
. As of 2008, an 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...
has been confirmed to be orbiting the star.
Planetary system
It has a 2.8 Jupiter massJupiter mass
Jupiter mass , is the unit of mass equal to the total mass of the planet Jupiter . Jupiter mass is used to describe masses of the gas giants, such as the outer planets and extrasolar planets. It is also used in describing brown dwarfs....
planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
orbiting at 0.68 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
, designated as Xi Aquilae b
Xi Aquilae b
Xi Aquilae b is an extrasolar planet approximately 200 light-years away in the constellation of Aquila. The planet was discovered orbiting the yellow giant star Xi Aquilae in 2008. The planet has a minimum mass of 2.8 Jupiter and a period of 137 days....
.