HD 70642 b
HD 70642 b is a cold gas giant orbiting HD 70642 in the constellation Puppis. It lies about 96 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2003 using the radial velocity method.
Is HD 70642 b in the Habitable Zone?
HD 70642 b orbits beyond the outer edge of the habitable zone of HD 70642. At that distance, any surface water would almost certainly be frozen.
Habitable zone of HD 70642: 0.729–1.719 AU (conservative: 0.923–1.630 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 70642 b — one full orbit around HD 70642 — lasts 2,124.5 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 3.318 AU. Its orbit is mildly elliptical (eccentricity 0.18).
How Was HD 70642 b Discovered?
HD 70642 b was discovered in 2003 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 70642 b?
HD 70642 b is 95.5 light-years (29.3 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1931. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 1,680,800 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 70642 b scores 0.16, ranking #4,160 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: HD 70642
HD 70642
- Surface temperature
- 5,732 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.08 M☉
- Radius
- 0.98 R☉
- Age
- 0.9 billion years (Sun: 4.6)
Planetary System
HD 70642 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 70642 so far.
HD 70642 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 633.44 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 2,124.54 days |
| Orbital distance | 3.318 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.175 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.16 |
| Distance from Earth | 95.5 light-years (29.3 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Puppis |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | Anglo-Australian Telescope |
| Discovery year | 2003 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2019-06-24. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About HD 70642 b
Is HD 70642 b habitable?
No — HD 70642 b orbits outside the habitable zone of HD 70642 and is likely too cold for liquid water on its surface.
How far away is HD 70642 b?
HD 70642 b is about 96 light-years from Earth in the constellation Puppis. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 1,680,800 years to get there.
How long is a year on HD 70642 b?
One orbit around HD 70642 takes 2,124.5 Earth days.
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