HD 216536 b
HD 216536 b is a cold gas giant orbiting HD 216536 in the constellation Lacerta. It lies about 1,227 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2015 using the radial velocity method.
Is HD 216536 b in the Habitable Zone?
HD 216536 b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of HD 216536. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.
Habitable zone of HD 216536: 5.041–12.377 AU (conservative: 6.386–11.734 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 216536 b — one full orbit around HD 216536 — lasts 148.6 Earth days, between the years of Mercury (88 days) and Earth (365 days). It orbits at an average distance of 0.610 AU — comparable to the inner Solar System. Its orbit is highly elliptical (eccentricity 0.38), swinging dramatically closer to and farther from its star.
How Was HD 216536 b Discovered?
HD 216536 b was discovered in 2015 using the radial velocity method, with observations from McDonald 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 216536 b?
HD 216536 b is 1,227.1 light-years (376.2 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet about 1,227 years ago. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 21,596,960 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 216536 b scores 0.07, ranking #4,919 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: HD 216536
HD 216536
- Surface temperature
- 4,639 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 0.81 M☉
- Radius
- 9.83 R☉
Planetary System
HD 216536 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 216536 so far.
HD 216536 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 333.72 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 148.60 days |
| Orbital distance | 0.610 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.380 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.07 |
| Distance from Earth | 1,227.1 light-years (376.2 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Lacerta |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | McDonald Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2015 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2018-09-04. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About HD 216536 b
Is HD 216536 b habitable?
No — HD 216536 b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.
How far away is HD 216536 b?
HD 216536 b is about 1,227 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lacerta. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 21,596,960 years to get there.
How long is a year on HD 216536 b?
One orbit around HD 216536 takes 148.6 Earth days.
Explore HD 216536 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.
