51 Eridani b is a "Jupiter-like" planet that orbits the young F0 V star 51 Eridani, in the constellation Eridanus. It is 96 light years away from the solar system, and it is approximately 20 million years old.

Discovery

51 Eridani b was announced in August 2015, but was discovered in December 2014 using the

Gemini Planet Imager The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a high contrast imaging instrument that was built for the Gemini South Telescope in Chile. The instrument achieves high contrast at small angular separations, allowing for the direct imaging and integral field spec ...

, an international project led by the

Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology The Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) is an independent joint laboratory of Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, founded in 2003 by a gift by Fred Kavli and Kavli Foundation (United States ...

. 51 Eridani b is the first exoplanet discovered by the Gemini Planet Imager. The Gemini Planet Imager was specifically created to discern and evaluate dim, newer planets orbiting bright stars through “direct imaging.” Direct imaging allows astronomers to use adaptive optics to sharpen the resolution of the image of a target star, then obstruct its starlight. Any residual incoming light is then scrutinized, and the brightest spots suggest a possible planet. Prior to the discovery of 51 Eridani b, each of the directly imaged worlds previously discovered had been gas giants many times the mass of Jupiter.

Physical characteristics

The planet has a mass at least 2.6, but not more than 11. Its radius is about 1.11 times the radius of Jupiter. It orbits 11.1 AU from its host star, and has an orbital period of roughly 10,000 days. The average temperature is 807 K, which is substantially hotter than the 130 K average temperature of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

, the planet in the Solar System of closest size.

Atmosphere

'51 Eridani b' has relatively low C/O molar ratio of 0.38. The planet has the second strongest methane signature of any exoplanet, after GJ 504 b. This methane signature, along with the low luminosity of the object, should produce additional clues as to how 51 Eridani b was formed. Astronomers also detected the presence of water in the planet's spectrum. Atmospheric modeling favors a low surface gravity and a partly cloudy atmosphere.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:51 Eridani b Eridanus (constellation) Exoplanets discovered in 2014 Exoplanets detected by direct imaging Exoplanets detected by astrometry