HD 152079 b
HD 152079 b is a cold gas giant orbiting HD 152079 in the constellation Ara. It lies about 287 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2009 using the radial velocity method.
Is HD 152079 b in the Habitable Zone?
HD 152079 b orbits beyond the outer edge of the habitable zone of HD 152079. At that distance, any surface water would almost certainly be frozen.
Habitable zone of HD 152079: 0.878–2.061 AU (conservative: 1.112–1.954 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 152079 b — one full orbit around HD 152079 — lasts 2,918.9 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 4.187 AU. Its orbit is highly elliptical (eccentricity 0.53), swinging dramatically closer to and farther from its star.
How Was HD 152079 b Discovered?
HD 152079 b was discovered in 2009 using the radial velocity method, with observations from Las Campanas 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 152079 b?
HD 152079 b is 286.7 light-years (87.9 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1740. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 5,045,920 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 152079 b scores 0.15, ranking #4,207 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: HD 152079
HD 152079
- Surface temperature
- 5,907 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.15 M☉
- Radius
- 1.13 R☉
- Age
- 1.6 billion years (Sun: 4.6)
Planetary System
HD 152079 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 152079 so far.
HD 152079 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 845.75 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 2,918.92 days |
| Orbital distance | 4.187 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.532 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.15 |
| Distance from Earth | 286.7 light-years (87.9 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Ara |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | Las Campanas Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2009 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2019-06-24. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About HD 152079 b
Is HD 152079 b habitable?
No — HD 152079 b orbits outside the habitable zone of HD 152079 and is likely too cold for liquid water on its surface.
How far away is HD 152079 b?
HD 152079 b is about 287 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ara. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 5,045,920 years to get there.
How long is a year on HD 152079 b?
One orbit around HD 152079 takes 2,918.9 Earth days.
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