HD 79498 b
HD 79498 b is a cold gas giant orbiting the G5 star HD 79498 in the constellation Cancer. It lies about 160 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2011 using the radial velocity method.
Is HD 79498 b in the Habitable Zone?
HD 79498 b orbits beyond the outer edge of the habitable zone of HD 79498. At that distance, any surface water would almost certainly be frozen.
Habitable zone of HD 79498: 0.778–1.835 AU (conservative: 0.986–1.740 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 79498 b — one full orbit around HD 79498 — lasts 1,807.0 Earth days, longer than an Earth year. It orbits at an average distance of 2.980 AU. Its orbit is highly elliptical (eccentricity 0.57), swinging dramatically closer to and farther from its star.
How Was HD 79498 b Discovered?
HD 79498 b was discovered in 2011 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 79498 b?
HD 79498 b is 159.6 light-years (48.9 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1867. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 2,808,960 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 79498 b scores 0.19, ranking #3,932 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: HD 79498
HD 79498 b belongs to a system of 2 stars; it orbits HD 79498.
HD 79498
- Spectral type
- G5
- Surface temperature
- 5,748 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.08 M☉
- Radius
- 1.05 R☉
- Luminosity
- 1.0715 L☉
- Age
- 2.7 billion years (Sun: 4.6)
Planetary System
HD 79498 b is the only planet known to orbit HD 79498 so far.
HD 79498 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 425.89 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 1,807.00 days |
| Orbital distance | 2.980 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.575 |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.19 |
| Distance from Earth | 159.6 light-years (48.9 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Cancer |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | McDonald Observatory |
| Discovery year | 2011 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2018-09-25. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About HD 79498 b
Is HD 79498 b habitable?
No — HD 79498 b orbits outside the habitable zone of HD 79498 and is likely too cold for liquid water on its surface.
How far away is HD 79498 b?
HD 79498 b is about 160 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cancer. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 2,808,960 years to get there.
How long is a year on HD 79498 b?
One orbit around HD 79498 takes 1,807.0 Earth days.
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