HD 168746 is an 8th magnitude

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

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 ...

of Serpens. It is very similar to the Sun, a yellow dwarf star ( spectral class G5V). It is not visible to the unaided eye, but is easily visible with

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

or a small telescope. In 2000 a planet was announced orbiting it. In 2019 the HD 168746 planetary system was chosen as part of the NameExoWorlds campaign organised by the International Astronomical Union to mark to 100th anniversary of the organisation. Each country was assigned a star and planet to be named with HD 168746 being assigned to Cyprus. The winning proposal named the star Alasia, an ancient name for Cyprus, and the planet Onasilos after an ancient Cypriot physician identified in the Idalion Tablet, one of the oldest known legal contracts.

Planetary system

The planet HD 168746 b was discovered by Exoplanet group at the Geneva Observatory with the

radial velocity The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the temporal rate of change, rate of change of the distance or Slant range, range between the two points. It is e ...

method using the CORALIE spectrograph on the Swiss 1.2-metre

Leonard Euler Telescope Leonhard Euler Telescope, or the Swiss EULER Telescope, is a national, fully automatic reflecting telescope, built and operated by the Geneva Observatory. It is located at an altitude of at ESO's La Silla Observatory site in the Chilean Nor ...

. At the time it was one of the lowest mass planets that had been discovered.

References

External links

G-type main-sequence stars 168746 090004 Serpens Planetary systems with one confirmed planet BD-11 4606 Alasia {{main-star-stub

Planetary system

See also

References

External links