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» Extrasolar Planet Guide » Companions of Normal Stars » 79 Ceti » 79 Ceti b

Clarified Jovian, Eccentric

Object Type:

Clarified Jovian, Eccentric

Parent Star:

79 Ceti (G5 IV)

Discovery Status:

Confirmed

Current Planet

Habitability Zone

Mass ( M sin i ):

0.23 Jupiters

Periastron Distance:

0.27 AU

Mean Distance:

0.35 AU

Apastron Distance:

0.42 AU

Orbital Period:

75.56 ± 0.4 Days

Eccentricity:

0.21 ± 0.15

Argument of Perihelion (omega):

53 °

Radial Velocity of Star:

10.7 m/s

Planet Appearance:

Blue and cloudless

Estimated Periastron Temp:

594 Kelvin

Estimated Mean Temp:

528 Kelvin

Estimated Apastron Temp:

480 Kelvin

Max Angular Star Size:

3.093°

Mean Angular Star Size:

2.386°

Min Angular Star Size:

1.988°

Gravitational Influence
(Hill Sphere):

0.014 AU / 2190000 km

Max Stable Prograde Moon Orbit:

0.005 AU / 780000 km

Max Moon Mass:

0.0202 Earths ¹^,²^,³
1.648 x Moon

Tidally locked if older than:

> 20 Gyr ⁴

Estimated Bond Albedo:

~ 0.1 ⁵

Notes:
    ¹ assuming age of 5 Gyr
    ² inaccurate for planets with mass < 0.3 Jupiters
    ³ based on periastron due to high eccentricity
    ⁴ orbit may be too eccentric for 1:1 tidal lock
    ⁵ from Sudarsky et al. 2000

Year Discovered:

2000

Detection Method:

Doppler Spectroscopy

Discovered By:

MARCY G., BUTLER P. & VOGT S.

79 Ceti b and HD 46375 b were the first two planets of sub-Saturn mass to be discovered around sun-like stars.

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The Planet of 79 Ceti
79 Ceti b was one of the first extrasolar planets discovered with a mass similar to Saturn. This planet has an eccentric orbit slightly smaller than that of Mercury. Too close in for white water vapor clouds to form, but too far out to glow red from stellar heating, the surface of this world is a nearly featureless blue due to Rayleigh scattering. The planet is accompanied by its host of rocky moons and dusty rings.

View the Night Sky from 79 Ceti b...
	Cylindrical All Sky View (750 x 1500 pixels)
	Northern Hemisphere (750 x 750 pixels)
	Southern Hemisphere (750 x 750 pixels)