OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb
OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb is an extremely massive exoplanet, with a mass about 13.4 times that of Jupiter (MJ), or is, possibly, a low mass brown dwarf, orbiting the G-dwarf star OGLE-2016-BLG-1190L, located about 22,000 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Sagittarius, in the galactic bulge of the Milky Way.[1][3][4]
Example of a brown dwarf (artist concept) | |
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Ryu, Y.-H. et al[1] |
Discovery site | Spitzer Space Telescope[1] |
Discovery date | 2017[1] |
Gravitational microlensing[1] | |
Orbital characteristics | |
2.17 AU (325,000,000 km)[2] | |
Eccentricity | 0.42[2] |
1223.6 [2] d | |
Inclination | 41.2[2] |
Star | OGLE-2016-BLG-1190L[1] |
Physical characteristics | |
Mass | 13.38[1][2] MJ |
“Since the existence of the brown dwarf desert is the signature of different formation mechanisms for stars and planets, the extremely close proximity of OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb to this desert raises the question of whether it is truly a ‘planet’ (by formation mechanism) and therefore reacts back upon its role tracing the galactic distribution of planets," according to astronomers reporting the findings.[1][5]
Discovery
The host star was discovered in June 2016 by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) collaboration; the Spitzer Space Telescope observed the microlensing event a few days after its discovery. OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb is the first exoplanet discovered by microlensing with the Spitzer space telescope and the first exoplanet discovered lying near the planet/brown dwarf boundary.[1][3] In addition, the discovery "is likely to be the first Spitzer microlensing planet in the Galactic bulge/bar," according to the initial reported study.[1]
See also
References
- Ryu, Y.-H.; et al. (27 October 2017). "OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb: First Spitzer Bulge Planet Lies Near the Planet/Brown-Dwarf Boundary". arXiv:1710.09974 [astro-ph.EP].
- Staff (2017). "Planet OGLE-2016-BLG-1190L b". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- Nowakowski, Tomasz (6 November 2017). "Extremely massive exoplanet discovered in the Milky Way's bulge". Phys.org. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- Bartels, Meghan (7 November 2017). "A Giant Exoplanet Is Hiding At The Center of the Milky Way Galaxy". Newsweek. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- Wehner, Mike (7 November 2017). "Astronomers just spotted a planet so huge they aren't even sure it's really a planet". BGR. Retrieved 10 November 2017.