BD+2 0594b (also known as K2-56b) is a massive

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

discovered by the

Kepler spacecraft The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orb ...

in collaboration with the

HARPS The High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) is a high-precision echelle planet-finding spectrograph installed in 2002 on the ESO's 3.6m telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile. The first light was achieved in February 2003. H ...

spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where the ...

at La Silla in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Naming

BD+20 594b indicates that the planet circles a star found in the

Bonner Durchmusterung In astronomy, Durchmusterung or Bonner Durchmusterung (BD) is an astrometric star catalogue of the whole sky, compiled by the Bonn Observatory in Germany from 1859 to 1903. The name comes from ('run-through examination'), a German word used for ...

catalogue, ''BD +20° 594'', the 594th entry in the +20-degree zone (declinations from +19 to +20 degrees); and that it is the first planet discovered orbiting that star. K2-56b indicates that the planet circles a star catalogued in the Kepler 2 mission catalogue (part of the extended K2

Kepler mission The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orb ...

), the 56th one in the catalogue; and that it is the first planet discovered orbiting that star.

Planet

With a radius of 2.2 R_🜨 and a mass of 16.31 M_🜨, BD+20594b is substantially smaller than

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

. Taking the estimates of its radius and mass at face value, the composition of the planet would be rocky, hence making it classified as a

mega-Earth A mega-Earth is a proposed neologism for a massive terrestrial exoplanet that is at least ten times the mass of Earth. Mega-Earths would be substantially more massive than super-Earths (terrestrial and ocean planets with masses around 5–10 Earth ...

. BD+20594b's exact composition is still unknown. The planet was discovered on January 28, 2016 by astrophysicist Néstor Espinoza and his team from the

Catholic University of Chile The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, using data from the two-wheeled Kepler mission (K2). It orbits a K-type star 496.08 light years away in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...

. It is believed that planets with a radius greater than 1.6 times the Earth's are not usually rocky, making BD+20594b an exception to this rule.

References

External links

Largest Rocky World Found - Universe Today
Aries (constellation) Exoplanets discovered in 2016 Transiting exoplanets Mega-Earths Exoplanets discovered by K2 {{extrasolar-planet-stub

Naming

Planet

See also

References

External links