Upsilon Andromedae b

Upsilon Andromedae b / Saffar
Size comparison of Jupiter with Upsilon Andromedae b
Discovery
Discovered byMarcy et al.
Discovery siteCalifornia and Carnegie
Planet Search

 United States
Discovery dateJune 23, 1996
Radial velocity
Orbital characteristics
Apastron0.0601 AU
Periastron0.0587 AU
0.0594±0.0003 AU[1]
Eccentricity0.012±0.005[1]
4.617111±0.000014 d[1]
(0.01264096 a; 110.8107 h)
Inclination24±4[1]
2,450,034.05±0.33[1]
44.11±25.56[1]
Semi-amplitude70.51±0.37[1]
StarUpsilon Andromedae
Physical characteristics
~1.8[2]RJ
Mass1.70+0.33
−0.24
[1] MJ

Upsilon Andromedae b (υ Andromedae b, abbreviated Upsilon And b, υ And b), formally named Saffar /ˈsæfɑːr/, is an extrasolar planet approximately 44 light-years away from the Sun in the constellation of Andromeda. The planet orbits its host star, the F-type main-sequence star Upsilon Andromedae A, approximately every five days. Discovered in June 1996 by Geoffrey Marcy and R. Paul Butler, it was one of the first hot Jupiters to be discovered. It is also one of the first non-resolved planets to be detected directly. Upsilon Andromedae b is the innermost-known planet in its planetary system.

In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union 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 winning name was Saffar for this planet.[5] The winning name was submitted by the Vega Astronomy Club of Morocco and honours the 11th-century astronomer Ibn al-Saffar of Muslim Spain.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Cite error: The named reference Pizkorz2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Deitrick2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ NameExoWorlds: An IAU Worldwide Contest to Name Exoplanets and their Host Stars. IAU.org. 9 July 2014
  4. ^ "NameExoWorlds The Process". Archived from the original on 2015-08-15. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  5. ^ Final Results of NameExoWorlds Public Vote Released, International Astronomical Union, 15 December 2015.
  6. ^ "NameExoWorlds The Approved Names". Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2016-01-17.