HD 40307 E
HD 40307 e is an extrasolar planet candidate suspected to be orbiting the star HD 40307. It is located 42 light-years away in the direction of the southern constellation Pictor. The planet was discovered by the radial velocity method, using the European Southern Observatory's HARPS apparatus by a team of astronomers led by Mikko Tuomi at the University of Hertfordshire and Guillem Anglada-Escude of the University of Göttingen, Germany.
The existence of the planet was disputed in 2015, as more Doppler spectroscopy data has become available.
Planetary characteristics
Its minimum mass is 3.5 that of Earth - the smallest - and dynamical models suggest it cannot be much more (and so is measured close to edge-on). It further gets roughly the same insolation from its star as Mercury gets from the Sun. Planets like this in that system have been presumed "super-Earth".
However planets b, c, and d are presumed to have migrated in from outer orbits; and planet b is predicted a sub-Neptune. It is likely that this planet formed even further out. Whether it is a sub-Neptune, a super-Venus or even a super-Mercury is unknown.
References
- ^ Tuomi, Mikko; Anglada-Escudé, Guillem; Gerlach, Enrico; Jones, Hugh R. A.; Reiners, Ansgar; Rivera, Eugenio J.; Vogt, Steven S.; Butler, R. Paul (17 December 2012). "Habitable-zone super-Earth candidate in a six-planet system around the K2.5V star HD 40307". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 549: A48. arXiv:1211.1617. Bibcode:2013A&A...549A..48T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220268. S2CID 7424216.
- ^ Wall, Mike (November 7, 2012). "'Super-Earth' Alien Planet May Be Habitable for Life". Space.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
- ^ Tate, Karl (November 7, 2012). "Super-Earth Planet: Potentially Habitable Alien World Explained (Infographic)". Space.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
- ^ Murrin, Marc (November 8, 2012). "Astronomers discover a potentially habitable Super-Earth HD 40307g (Infographic)". tech-stew.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
- ^ Díaz, R. F.; et al. (2016). "The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XXXVIII. Bayesian re-analysis of three systems. New super-Earths, unconfirmed signals, and magnetic cycles". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 585. A134. arXiv:1510.06446. Bibcode:2016A&A...585A.134D. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201526729. S2CID 118531921.
- ^ Tuomi, Fig. 17
- ^ M. Mayor; S. Udry; C. Lovis; F. Pepe; D. Queloz; W. Benz; J.-L. Bertaux; F. Bouchy; C. Mordasini; D. Segransan (2009). "The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XIII. A planetary system with 3 Super-Earths (4.2, 6.9, & 9.2 Earth masses)". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 493 (2): 639–644. arXiv:0806.4587. Bibcode:2009A&A...493..639M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200810451. S2CID 116365802.
- ^ Barnes, R.; Jackson, B.; Raymond, S.; West, A.; Greenberg, R. (2009). "The HD 40307 Planetary System: Super-Earths or Mini-Neptunes?". The Astrophysical Journal. 695 (2): 1006–1011. arXiv:0901.1698. Bibcode:2009ApJ...695.1006B. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/695/2/1006. S2CID 18849636.
External links
- "Super-Earth Discovered in Star's Habitable Zone". Exoplanets. 2017-05-10. Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2012-11-10.