Pirx (planet)
The planet was named during the NameExoWorlds campaign by Poland. Pilot Pirx is a fictional character from stories by Polish science-fiction writer Stanisław Lem.
Characteristics
Mass, radius and temperature
BD+14 4559 b is a gas giant, an exoplanet that has a radius and mass around that of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. It has a temperature of 205 K (−68 °C; −91 °F). It has an estimated mass of around 1.2 MJ and a potential radius of around 1.05 RJ based on its mass.
Host star
The planet orbits a (K-type) star named BD+14 4559. The star has a mass of 0.86 M☉ and a radius of around 0.95 R☉. It has a surface temperature of 5008 K and is likely about 3 billion years old based on its evolution and mass. In comparison, the Sun is about 4.6 billion years old and has a surface temperature of 5778 K.
The star's apparent magnitude, or how bright it appears from Earth's perspective, is 9.63. Therefore, BD+14 4559 is too dim to be seen with the naked eye, but can be viewed using good binoculars.
Orbit
BD+14 4559 b orbits its star every 268 days at a distance of 0.77 AU (close to Venus's orbital distance from the Sun, which is 0.72 AU). It has a mildly eccentric orbit, with an eccentricity of 0.29.
Discovery
The search for BD+14 4559 b started when its host star was chosen an ideal target for a planet search using the radial velocity method (in which the gravitational pull of a planet on its star is measured by observing the resulting Doppler shift), as stellar activity would not overly mask or mimic Doppler spectroscopy measurements. It was also confirmed that BD+14 4559 is neither a binary star nor a quickly rotating star, common false positives when searching for transiting planets. Analysis of the resulting data found that the radial velocity variations most likely indicated the existence of a planet. The net result was an estimate of a 1.47 MJ planetary companion orbiting the star at a distance of 0.77 AU with an eccentricity of 0.29.
Radial velocity measurements of BD+14 4559 were measured at 43 epochs over the period of roughly 1,265 days (around 4 years) using the Hobby–Eberly Telescope. Measurements determined that a signal-to-noise ratio per resolution element was around 150–260 at 594 nm in 10 to 25 minutes of integration. The estimated mean RV uncertainty for the parent star was estimated at 8 m s.
The discovery of BD+14 4559 b was reported in the journal The Astrophysical Journal on June 10, 2009.
See also
References
- ^ Niedzielski, A.; et al. (2009). "Substellar-mass Companions to the K-dwarf BD+14 4559 and the K-giants HD 240210 and BD+20 2457". The Astrophysical Journal. 707 (1): 768–777. arXiv:0906.1804. Bibcode:2009ApJ...707..768N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/707/1/768. S2CID 16877069.
- ^ "Approved names". NameExoworlds. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ BD14 4559 hpcf.upr.edu
- ^ Fraser Cain (16 September 2008). "How Old is the Sun?". Universe Today. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ Fraser Cain (15 September 2008). "Temperature of the Sun". Universe Today. Retrieved 19 February 2011.