47 Ursae Majoris b

Planetbox begin
name = 47 Ursae Majoris bPlanetbox image

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caption = An artist's impression of 47 Ursae Majoris b.Planetbox star
star = 47 Ursae Majoris
constell = Ursa Major
RA = RA|10|59|28.0
DEC = DEC|+40|25|49
dist_ly = 45.9
dist_pc = 14.1
class = G1VPlanetbox orbit
semimajor = 2.14cite web|url=http://exoplanets.org/planets.shtml|title=Planets Table|work=Catalog of Nearby Exoplanets|accessdate=2008-10-04]
eccentricity = 0
period = 1095.0 ± 2.9
long_peri = 68.9
t_peri = 2,450,045 ± 66
semi-amp = 49.00 ± 0.87Planetbox character
mass = >2.62Planetbox discovery
discovery_date = 17 January 1996
discoverers = Marcy and
Butler "et al."
discovery_site = flag|United States
discovery_method = Doppler spectroscopy
discovery_status = Confirmed

47 Ursae Majoris b is an extrasolar planet approximately 46 light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. The planet was discovered located in a long-period around the star 47 Ursae Majoris. The planet is currently the innermost known planet in its planetary system. 47 Ursae Majoris b was discovered in January 1996 and has a mass at least 2.62 times that of Jupiter.

Discovery

Like the majority of known extrasolar planets, 47 Ursae Majoris b was discovered by detecting the changes in its star's radial velocity as the planet's gravity pulls the star around. This was achieved by observing the Doppler shift of the spectrum of 47 Ursae Majoris. After the discovery of the first extrasolar planet around a Sun-like star, 51 Pegasi b, astronomers Geoffrey Marcy and R. Paul Butler searched through their observational data for signs of extrasolar planets and soon discovered two: 47 Ursae Majoris b and 70 Virginis b. The discovery of 47 Ursae Majoris b was announced in 1996. [cite journal | url=http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/310102 | author=Butler, R. and Marcy, G. W. | title=A Planet Orbiting 47 Ursae Majoris | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=464 | issue=2 | year=1996 | pages=L153 – L156 | doi=10.1086/310102]

Orbit and mass

47 Ursae Majoris b orbits at a distance of 2.14 AU from its star, taking 1,095 days to complete a revolution. It was the first long-period planet around a main sequence star to be discovered. Unlike the majority of known long-period extrasolar planets, the eccentricity of the orbit of 47 Ursae Majoris b is low.

A limitation of the radial velocity method used to detect 47 Ursae Majoris b is that only a lower limit on the planet's mass can be obtained. Preliminary astrometric measurements made by the Hipparcos satellite suggest the planet's orbit is inclined at an angle of 63.1° to the plane of the sky, which would imply a true mass 12% greater than the lower limit determined by radial velocity measurements. [cite journal | url=http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/318927 | title=Preliminary Astrometric Masses for Proposed Extrasolar Planetary Companions | author=Han, I. et al. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=548 | issue=1 | pages=L57 – L60 | year=2001 | doi=10.1086/318927] However, subsequent investigation of the data reduction techniques used suggests that the Hipparcos measurements are not precise enough to adequately characterise the orbits of substellar companions, and the true inclination of the orbit (and hence the true mass) are regarded as unknown. [cite journal|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001A%26A...372..935P|title=Screening the Hipparcos-based astrometric orbits of sub-stellar objects|author=Pourbaix, D. and Arenou, F.|journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics|volume=372|pages=935 – 944|year=2001|doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20010597]

Physical characteristics

Given the planet's high mass, it is likely that 47 Ursae Majoris b is a gas giant with no solid surface. Since the planet has only been detected indirectly, properties such as its radius, composition and temperature are unknown. Due to its mass it is likely to have a surface gravity 6-8 times that of Earth. Assuming a composition similar to that of Jupiter and an environment close to chemical equilibrium, the upper atmosphere of the planet is expected to contain water clouds, as opposed to the ammonia clouds typical of Jupiter. [cite journal|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000ApJ...538..885S|author=Sudarsky, D. et al.|title=Albedo and Reflection Spectra of Extrasolar Giant Planets|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=538|issue=2|pages=885 – 903|year=2000|doi=10.1086/309160]

While 47 Ursae Majoris b lies outside its star's habitable zone, its gravitational influence would disrupt the orbit of planets in the outer part of the habitable zone. [cite journal |url=http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?2005ApJ...622.1091J&db_key=AST&nosetcookie=1 |author=Jones, B. et al.|title=Prospects for Habitable "Earths" in Known Exoplanetary Systems|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=622|issue=2|pages=1091 – 1101|year=2005|doi=10.1086/428108] In addition, it may have disrupted the formation of terrestrial planets and reduced the delivery of water to any inner planets in the system. [cite journal|url=http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0605136|title=The Search for other Earths: limits on the giant planet orbits that allow habitable terrestrial planets to form|author=Raymond, S.|year=2006|journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters (accepted)|doi=10.1086/505596|volume=643|pages=L131|format=subscription required] Therefore planets located in the habitable zone of 47 Ursae Majoris are likely to be small and dry.

See also

*47 Ursae Majoris c
*47 Ursae Majoris in fiction

References

External links

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