HD 150706 b
HD 150706 b is a cold gas giant orbiting the G0 V star HD 150706 in the constellation Ursa Minor. It lies about 92 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2012 using the radial velocity method.
Is HD 150706 b in the Habitable Zone?
HD 150706 b orbits beyond the outer edge of the habitable zone of HD 150706. At that distance, any surface water would almost certainly be frozen.
Habitable zone of HD 150706: 0.758–1.778 AU (conservative: 0.961–1.686 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 150706 b — one full orbit around HD 150706 — lasts 5,894.0 Earth days, longer than Jupiter's 12-year orbit. It orbits at an average distance of 6.700 AU. Its orbit is highly elliptical (eccentricity 0.38), swinging dramatically closer to and farther from its star.
How Was HD 150706 b Discovered?
HD 150706 b was discovered in 2012 using the radial velocity method, with observations from Haute-Provence 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 150706 b?
HD 150706 b is 92.2 light-years (28.3 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1934. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 1,622,720 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 150706 b scores 0.09, ranking #4,486 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: HD 150706
HD 150706
- Spectral type
- G0 V
- Surface temperature
- 5,961 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.17 M☉
- Radius
- 0.96 R☉
- Age
- 3.0 billion years (Sun: 4.6)
Planetary System
HD 150706 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 150706 so far.
HD 150706 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 861.28 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 5,894.00 days |
| Orbital distance | 6.700 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.380 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.09 |
| Distance from Earth | 92.2 light-years (28.3 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Ursa Minor |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | Haute-Provence Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2012 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2014-07-23. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About HD 150706 b
Is HD 150706 b habitable?
No — HD 150706 b orbits outside the habitable zone of HD 150706 and is likely too cold for liquid water on its surface.
How far away is HD 150706 b?
HD 150706 b is about 92 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Minor. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 1,622,720 years to get there.
How long is a year on HD 150706 b?
One orbit around HD 150706 takes 5,894.0 Earth days.
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