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BD+48 740 b

Cold Gas Giant Perseus

BD+48 740 b is a cold gas giant orbiting BD+48 740 in the constellation Perseus. It lies about 2,174 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2018 using the radial velocity method.

540×Earth mass
733 dOrbital period
0.11Earth similarity
2,174 lyDistance
2018Discovered

Is BD+48 740 b in the Habitable Zone?

BD+48 740 b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of BD+48 740. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.

BD+48 740 b
Too hot Optimistic habitable zone Conservative habitable zone Too cold

Habitable zone of BD+48 740: 5.277–13.017 AU (conservative: 6.684–12.342 AU), per Kopparapu et al. (2014). Earth orbits the Sun at 1 AU.

See the full interactive habitable-zone view in the Exoplanet Explorer app ›

Orbit and Year Length

A year on BD+48 740 b — one full orbit around BD+48 740 — lasts 733.0 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 1.700 AU. Its orbit is highly elliptical (eccentricity 0.76), swinging dramatically closer to and farther from its star.

How Was BD+48 740 b Discovered?

BD+48 740 b was discovered in 2018 using the radial velocity method, with observations from Multiple Observatories.

The radial velocity method measures the subtle wobble of a star caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet, visible as periodic shifts in the star's light spectrum. The size of the wobble reveals the planet's minimum mass.

How Far Away Is BD+48 740 b?

BD+48 740 b is 2,174.1 light-years (666.6 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet about 2,174 years ago. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 38,264,160 years to make the journey.

Earth Similarity Index

The Earth Similarity Index (ESI) scores how physically similar a planet is to Earth, from 0 to 1, based on radius, density, escape velocity and surface temperature. BD+48 740 b scores 0.11, ranking #4,375 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.

The Host Star: BD+48 740

BD+48 740

Surface temperature
4,534 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
Mass
1.09 M☉
Radius
10.33 R☉
Luminosity
43.6516 L☉

Planetary System

BD+48 740 b is the only planet known to orbit BD+48 740 so far.

BD+48 740 b — Complete Data

Mass (best estimate)540.31 Earth masses
Orbital period733.00 days
Orbital distance1.700 AU
Eccentricity0.760
Earth Similarity Index0.11
Distance from Earth2,174.1 light-years (666.6 parsecs)
ConstellationPerseus
Discovery methodRadial Velocity
Discovery facilityMultiple Observatories
Discovery year2018

Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2018-02-01. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.

Frequently Asked Questions About BD+48 740 b

Is BD+48 740 b habitable?

No — BD+48 740 b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.

How far away is BD+48 740 b?

BD+48 740 b is about 2,174 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 38,264,160 years to get there.

How long is a year on BD+48 740 b?

One orbit around BD+48 740 takes 733.0 Earth days.

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