Astronomy:41 Lyncis b

From HandWiki
Short description: Extrasolar planet orbiting the star 41 Lyncis
41 Lyncis b / Arkas
Discovery
Discovered bySato et al.[1]
Discovery siteOkayama Planet
Search Program
,
Japan
Discovery dateFebruary 19, 2008
radial velocity
Orbital characteristics
0.81 AU (121 million km)
Eccentricity0
Orbital period184.02 ± 0.18 d
astron|astron|helion}}2,452,335.4 ± 1.1
Star41 Lyncis


41 Lyncis b (abbreviated 41 Lyn b), also designated HD 81688 b and named Arkas /ˈɑːrkəs/,[2] is an extrasolar planet approximately 280 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Ursa Major.

A gas giant with a minimum mass 2.7 times that of Jupiter, it orbits the K-type star 41 Lyncis with an orbital period of 184 days (corresponding to a semi-major axis of 0.81 AU). It was discovered and announced by Bun'ei Sato on February 19, 2008.[1]

Name

In July 2014, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.[3] The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names.[4] In December 2015, the IAU announced the name Arkas for this planet.[5] The winning name was submitted by the Okayama Astro Club of Japan . Arkas was the son of Callisto (Ursa Major) in Greek mythology.[6]

See also

References

Coordinates: Sky map 09h 28m 40s, +45° 36′ 05″