HD 103720 b
HD 103720 b is a hot Jupiter orbiting the K3 V star HD 103720 in the constellation Virgo. It lies about 149 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2014 using the radial velocity method.
Is HD 103720 b in the Habitable Zone?
HD 103720 b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of HD 103720. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.
Habitable zone of HD 103720: 0.431–1.041 AU (conservative: 0.546–0.987 AU), per Kopparapu et al. (2014). Earth orbits the Sun at 1 AU.
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Orbit and Year Length
A year on HD 103720 b — one full orbit around HD 103720 — lasts 4.56 Earth days, shorter than Mercury's 88-day year. It orbits at an average distance of 0.050 AU — closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun. Its orbit is mildly elliptical (eccentricity 0.09).
How Was HD 103720 b Discovered?
HD 103720 b was discovered in 2014 using the radial velocity method, with observations from La Silla 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 HD 103720 b?
HD 103720 b is 148.5 light-years (45.5 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1878. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 2,613,600 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. HD 103720 b scores 0.07, ranking #4,909 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: HD 103720
HD 103720
- Spectral type
- K3 V
- Surface temperature
- 5,017 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 0.79 M☉
- Radius
- 0.73 R☉
- Age
- 3.8 billion years (Sun: 4.6)
Planetary System
HD 103720 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 103720 so far.
HD 103720 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 197.05 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 4.56 days |
| Orbital distance | 0.050 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.086 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.07 |
| Distance from Earth | 148.5 light-years (45.5 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | La Silla Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2014 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2015-01-08. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About HD 103720 b
Is HD 103720 b habitable?
No — HD 103720 b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.
How far away is HD 103720 b?
HD 103720 b is about 149 light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 2,613,600 years to get there.
How long is a year on HD 103720 b?
One orbit around HD 103720 takes 4.6 Earth days — short enough that 80 of its years would fit into one Earth year.
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