BD+20 594b

BD+20594b (also known as K2-56b[1]) is a massive exoplanet discovered by the Kepler spacecraft in collaboration with the HARPS spectrometer at La Silla in Chile.

BD +20° 594 b
Discovery
Discovery siteKepler Space Observatory, La Silla,  Chile
Discovery date2016
Transit
Orbital characteristics
0.241 +0.019
−0.017[1] AU
Eccentricity0[1]
41.6855 +0.0030
−0.0031[1] d
Inclination89.55+0.17
−0.14[1]
StarBD+20°594
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
2.23+0.14
−0.11[1] R⊕
Mass16.3 +6.0
−6.1[1] M⊕
Mean density
7.890+3.400
−3.100 g cm−3
Temperature546 K (273 °C; 523 °F) +19
−18 K

    Naming

    BD+20594b indicates that the planet circles a star found in the Bonner Durchmusterung catalogue, BD +20° 594, the 594th entry in the +20-degree zone (declinations from +19 to +20 degrees); and that it is the first planet discovered orbiting that star.

    K2-56b indicates that the planet circles a star catalogued in the Kepler 2 mission catalogue (part of the extended K2 Kepler mission), the 56th one in the catalogue; and that it is the first planet discovered orbiting that star.

    Planet

    With a radius of 2.2 R⊕ and a mass of 16.31 M⊕, BD+20594b is substantially smaller than Neptune.[2] Taking the estimates of its radius and mass at face value, the composition of the planet would be rocky, hence making it classified as a mega-Earth. BD+20594b's exact composition is still unknown.

    The planet was discovered on January 28, 2016 by astrophysicist Néstor Espinoza and his team from the Catholic University of Chile, using data from the two-wheeled Kepler mission (K2). It orbits a K-type star 496.08 light years away in the constellation Taurus.[3]

    It is believed that planets with a radius greater than 1.6 times the Earth's are not usually rocky,[4] making BD+20594b an exception to this rule.

    gollark: And if they wanted to kill off humans it would be trivial, as anything capable of accelerating a fairly large ship to significant fractions of lightspeed can do the same to a kinetic impactor of some sort.
    gollark: Interstellar travel is, as far as anyone can tell, ridiculously expensive. So it would not be worth going several light-years (probably more) just to attain Earth's, I don't know, rare earth metal stocks, when you can just mine asteroid belts or do starlifting.
    gollark: I imagine you could probably harvest them from twitter automatically quite easily.
    gollark: No.
    gollark: And probably prompt some dubiously ethical genetic engineering.

    See also

    References
    1. "CONFIRMED PLANET OVERVIEW PAGE". NASA Exoplanet Archive. NASA. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
    2. http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/bd%2B20_594_b/
    3. Espinoza, Néstor; Brahm, Rafael; Jordán, Andrés; Jenkins, James S; Rojas, Felipe; Jofré, Paula; Mädler, Thomas; Rabus, Markus; Chanamé, Julio; Pantoja, Blake; Soto, Maritza G; Morzinski, Katie M; Males, Jared R; Ward-Duong, Kimberly; Close, Laird M (2016). "Discovery and Validation of a High-Density sub-Neptune from the K2 Mission". The Astrophysical Journal. 830 (1): 43. arXiv:1601.07608. Bibcode:2016ApJ...830...43E. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/830/1/43.
    4. Rogers, Leslie A; Brahm, Rafael; Jordán, Andrés; Jenkins, James S; Rojas, Felipe; Jofré, Paula; Mädler, Thomas; Rabus, Markus; Chanamé, Julio; Pantoja, Blake; Soto, Maritza G; Morzinski, Katie M; Males, Jared R; Ward-Duong, Kimberly; Close, Laird M (2015). "Most 1.6 Earth-radius Planets are Not Rocky". The Astrophysical Journal. 801 (1): 41. arXiv:1407.4457. Bibcode:2015ApJ...801...41R. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/801/1/41.


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