HD 16141 b
HD 16141 b is a cold gas giant orbiting HD 16141 in the constellation Cetus. It lies about 123 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2000 using the radial velocity method.
Is HD 16141 b in the Habitable Zone?
HD 16141 b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of HD 16141. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.
Habitable zone of HD 16141: 1.104–2.603 AU (conservative: 1.398–2.467 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 16141 b — one full orbit around HD 16141 — lasts 75.5 Earth days, shorter than Mercury's 88-day year. It orbits at an average distance of 0.360 AU — closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun. Its orbit is mildly elliptical (eccentricity 0.25).
How Was HD 16141 b Discovered?
HD 16141 b was discovered in 2000 using the radial velocity method, with observations from W. M. Keck 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 16141 b?
HD 16141 b is 123.2 light-years (37.8 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1903. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 2,168,320 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 16141 b scores 0.13, ranking #4,269 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: HD 16141
HD 16141 b belongs to a system of 2 stars; it orbits HD 16141.
HD 16141
- Surface temperature
- 5,757 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.11 M☉
- Radius
- 1.48 R☉
Planetary System
HD 16141 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 16141 so far.
HD 16141 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 82.64 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 75.52 days |
| Orbital distance | 0.360 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.250 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.13 |
| Distance from Earth | 123.2 light-years (37.8 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Cetus |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | W. M. Keck Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2000 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2018-09-04. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About HD 16141 b
Is HD 16141 b habitable?
No — HD 16141 b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.
How far away is HD 16141 b?
HD 16141 b is about 123 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 2,168,320 years to get there.
How long is a year on HD 16141 b?
One orbit around HD 16141 takes 75.5 Earth days.
Explore HD 16141 b in the app
Browse, filter and compare 6,000+ exoplanets on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch — with habitable-zone views, widgets and offline data.
