Pi Mensae b

Pi Mensae b

Exoplanet		List of exoplanets
Parent star
Star		Pi Mensae
Constellation		Mensa
Right ascension	(α)	05^h 37^m 09.89^s
Declination	(δ)	–80° 28′ 08.84″
Apparent magnitude	(mV)	5.67
Distance		59.39 ly (18.21 pc)
Spectral type		G1IV
Orbital elements
Semi-major axis	(a)	3.38±0.22[1] AU (506 Gm)
		186 mas
Periastron	(q)	1.22 AU (182 Gm)
Apastron	(Q)	5.54 AU (830 Gm)
Eccentricity	(e)	0.6405±0.0072[1]
Orbital period	(P)	2151 ± 85[1] d (5.89 ± 0.23[1] y)
Argument of periastron	(ω)	330.24 ± 0.67[1]°
Time of periastron	(T0)	2,447,820 ± 170[1] JD
Semi-amplitude	(K)	196.4 ± 1.3[1] m/s
Physical characteristics
Minimum mass	(m sin i)	10.27 ± 0.84[1] MJ (3265 M⊕)
Discovery information
Discovery date		15 October 2001
Discoverer(s)		Jones et al.[2]
Discovery method		Doppler spectroscopy
Discovery site		Anglo-Australian Telescope
Discovery status		Published
Other designations
HD 39091 b
Database references
Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia		data
SIMBAD		data
Exoplanet Archive		data
Open Exoplanet Catalogue		data

Pi Mensae b (π Men b, π Mensae b), also known as HD 39091 b, is an extrasolar planet^[1] approximately 59 light-years away in the constellation of Mensa. The planet was announced orbiting the yellow subgiant star Pi Mensae in October 2001.

Detection and discovery

On October 15, 2001, a team of astronomers including Jones, Butler, Tinney, Marcy, Penny, McCarthy, Carter, and Pourbaix announced the discovery of one of the most massive extrasolar planets have yet been observed. It was discovered by the Anglo-Australian Planet Search team, using a Doppler spectrometer mounted on the Anglo-Australian Telescope.

Physical characteristics

Pi Mensae b has a very eccentric orbit and takes 5.89 years to revolve around the star. The semi-major axis of the planet to the star is 3.38 AU while the semi-minor axis is 2.59 AU. This planet passes through the star's habitable zone at periastron (1.21 AU) while at apastron, it passes to beyond Jupiter-Sun distance (5.54 AU). The gravitational influence of this planet would disrupt the orbit of any potentially Earth-like planet.

Pi Mensae b is over ten times more massive than Jupiter,^[3] the most massive planet in our solar system. It will have 10 times the surface gravity of Jupiter alone and could be incandescent (glowing). The inclination of the orbit is not known, and it could be a brown dwarf instead.

See also

• 30 Arietis Bb
• Gliese 777 b
• HD 70642 b

References

1. Butler; et al. (2006). "Catalog of Nearby Exoplanets". The Astrophysical Journal 646 (1): 505–522. arXiv:astro-ph/0607493. Bibcode:2006ApJ...646..505B. doi:10.1086/504701.
2. Jones H., Vogt S., Butler P., Marcy G., Fischer D., Pourbaix D., Apps K., & Laughlin G.
3. Jones; et al. (2002). "A probable planetary companion to HD 39091 from Anglo-Australian Planet Search". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 333 (4): 871–875. arXiv:astro-ph/0112084. Bibcode:2002MNRAS.333..871J. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05459.x. (web Preprint)

External links

• "HD 39091". Exoplanets. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
• "Pi Mensae". SolStation. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
• "Pi Mensae". Планетные Системы (in Russian). Retrieved 2008-07-28.

Coordinates: 05^h 37^m 09.89^s, −80° 28′ 08.84″