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HD 154857 b

Cold Gas Giant Ara

HD 154857 b is a cold gas giant orbiting HD 154857 in the constellation Ara. It lies about 207 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2004 using the radial velocity method.

779×Earth mass
409 dOrbital period
0.29Earth similarity
207 lyDistance
2004Discovered

Is HD 154857 b in the Habitable Zone?

HD 154857 b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of HD 154857. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.

HD 154857 b
Too hot Optimistic habitable zone Conservative habitable zone Too cold

Habitable zone of HD 154857: 1.633–3.868 AU (conservative: 2.069–3.668 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 HD 154857 b — one full orbit around HD 154857 — lasts 408.6 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 1.290 AU. Its orbit is highly elliptical (eccentricity 0.46), swinging dramatically closer to and farther from its star.

How Was HD 154857 b Discovered?

HD 154857 b was discovered in 2004 using the radial velocity method, with observations from Anglo-Australian Telescope.

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 154857 b?

HD 154857 b is 206.9 light-years (63.4 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1820. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 3,641,440 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 154857 b scores 0.29, ranking #1,766 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.

The Host Star: HD 154857

HD 154857

Surface temperature
5,589 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
Mass
1.96 M☉
Radius
2.30 R☉

The HD 154857 Planetary System

HD 154857 b is one of 2 known planets in the HD 154857 system. Its siblings:

HD 154857 b — Complete Data

Mass (best estimate)778.68 Earth masses
Orbital period408.60 days
Orbital distance1.290 AU
Eccentricity0.460
Earth Similarity Index0.29
Distance from Earth206.9 light-years (63.4 parsecs)
ConstellationAra
Discovery methodRadial Velocity
Discovery facilityAnglo-Australian Telescope
Discovery year2004

Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2018-09-04. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.

Frequently Asked Questions About HD 154857 b

Is HD 154857 b habitable?

No — HD 154857 b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.

How far away is HD 154857 b?

HD 154857 b is about 207 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ara. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 3,641,440 years to get there.

How long is a year on HD 154857 b?

One orbit around HD 154857 takes 408.6 Earth days.

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