gam1 Leo b
gam1 Leo b is a cold gas giant orbiting gam1 Leo in the constellation Leo. It lies about 130 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2009 using the radial velocity method.
Is gam1 Leo b in the Habitable Zone?
gam1 Leo b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of gam1 Leo. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.
Habitable zone of gam1 Leo: 14.397–35.856 AU (conservative: 18.236–33.994 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 gam1 Leo b — one full orbit around gam1 Leo — lasts 428.5 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 1.190 AU. Its orbit is mildly elliptical (eccentricity 0.14).
How Was gam1 Leo b Discovered?
gam1 Leo b was discovered in 2009 using the radial velocity method, with observations from Bohyunsan Optical Astronomical Observatory.
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 gam1 Leo b?
gam1 Leo b is 130.1 light-years (39.9 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1896. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 2,289,760 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. gam1 Leo b scores 0.08, ranking #4,769 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: gam1 Leo
gam1 Leo b belongs to a system of 2 stars; it orbits gam1 Leo.
gam1 Leo
- Surface temperature
- 4,330 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.23 M☉
- Radius
- 31.88 R☉
Planetary System
gam1 Leo b is the only planet known to orbit gam1 Leo so far.
gam1 Leo b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 2,790.43 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 428.50 days |
| Orbital distance | 1.190 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.144 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.08 |
| Distance from Earth | 130.1 light-years (39.9 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Leo |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | Bohyunsan Optical Astronomical Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2009 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2019-01-28. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About gam1 Leo b
Is gam1 Leo b habitable?
No — gam1 Leo b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.
How far away is gam1 Leo b?
gam1 Leo b is about 130 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 2,289,760 years to get there.
How long is a year on gam1 Leo b?
One orbit around gam1 Leo takes 428.5 Earth days.
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