TAP 26 b
TAP 26 b is a cold gas giant orbiting TAP 26 in the constellation Taurus. It lies about 396 light-years from Earth and was discovered in 2017 using the radial velocity method.
Is TAP 26 b in the Habitable Zone?
TAP 26 b orbits inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of TAP 26. So close to its star, surface conditions are far too hot for liquid water.
Habitable zone of TAP 26: 0.597–1.467 AU (conservative: 0.756–1.391 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 TAP 26 b — one full orbit around TAP 26 — lasts 10.8 Earth days, shorter than Mercury's 88-day year. It orbits at an average distance of 0.097 AU — closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun.
How Was TAP 26 b Discovered?
TAP 26 b was discovered in 2017 using the radial velocity method, with observations from Multiple Facilities.
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 TAP 26 b?
TAP 26 b is 396.0 light-years (121.4 parsecs) from Earth. Light arriving here tonight left the planet around the year 1630. A probe traveling at the speed of Voyager 1 — about 17 km/s, the fastest outbound spacecraft ever launched — would need roughly 6,969,600 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. TAP 26 b scores 0.08, ranking #4,596 of 5,568 planets with a known ESI. For reference, Mars scores about 0.70.
The Host Star: TAP 26
TAP 26
- Surface temperature
- 4,620 K (Sun: 5,772 K)
- Mass
- 1.04 M☉
- Radius
- 1.17 R☉
- Luminosity
- 0.5623 L☉
- Age
- 0.0 billion years (Sun: 4.6)
Planetary System
TAP 26 b is the only planet known to orbit TAP 26 so far.
TAP 26 b — Complete Data
| Mass (best estimate) | 527.60 Earth masses |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 10.79 days |
| Orbital distance | 0.097 AU |
| Earth Similarity Index | 0.08 |
| Distance from Earth | 396.0 light-years (121.4 parsecs) |
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery facility | Multiple Facilities |
| Discovery year | 2017 |
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, last updated 2017-01-31. Earth Similarity Index: PHL @ UPR Arecibo.
Frequently Asked Questions About TAP 26 b
Is TAP 26 b habitable?
No — TAP 26 b orbits too close to its star and is too hot for liquid water to exist on its surface.
How far away is TAP 26 b?
TAP 26 b is about 396 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. A spacecraft traveling as fast as Voyager 1 (about 17 km/s) would need roughly 6,969,600 years to get there.
How long is a year on TAP 26 b?
One orbit around TAP 26 takes 10.8 Earth days — short enough that 34 of its years would fit into one Earth year.
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