Gliese 555
This is an M-type main-sequence star, a red dwarf, with a stellar classification of M4.0V. The chromosphere of this star is weakly active, causing starspots that vary the stellar luminosity as it rotates. It has 29% of the mass of the Sun and 30% of the Sun's girth. On average, the star is radiating just 1% of the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 3,347 K. The star is spinning slowly with a rotation period of around 96 days.
Planetary system
In 2019, one planet candidate detected by radial velocity was reported in a preprint, among 118 planets around M dwarf stars. This would have a minimum mass about 30 times that of Earth and orbit with a period of about 450 days.
However, later radial velocity observations by the CARMENES survey published in 2023 did not confirm a planet at this period, but instead found a different planet. This is a super-Earth or mini-Neptune (the discovery paper uses the term "sub-Neptune") with a minimum mass of 5.5 Earths and a period of 36 days, placing it within the habitable zone. A second planet candidate was also found, with a minimum mass of 9.7 Earths and a period of 113 days, but this signal could not be confirmed as having a planetary origin due to its similarity to the rotation period of the star.
Companion (in order from star) |
Mass | Semimajor axis (AU) |
Orbital period (days) |
Eccentricity | Inclination | Radius |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
b | ≥5.46±0.75 M🜨 | 0.1417±0.0023 | 36.116+0.027 −0.029 |
0.079+0.090 −0.055 |
— | — |
c (unconfirmed) | ≥9.7±1.9 M🜨 | 0.3040+0.0048 −0.0051 |
113.46+0.19 −0.20 |
— | — | — |