Credit & Copyright: Reg Pratt
Explanation:
Epsilon Tauri
lies 146 light-years away.
A K-type
red giant
star, epsilon Tau is cooler than the Sun, but with
about 13 times the solar radius it has nearly 100 times the solar
luminosity.
A member of the
Hyades
open star cluster the giant star is known by the
proper name
Ain,
and along with brighter giant star Aldebaran,
forms the eyes of Taurus the Bull.
Surrounded by dusty, dark clouds in Taurus, epsilon Tau
is also known to have a planet.
Discovered by
radial
velocity
measurements in 2006,
Epsilon
Tauri b
is a gas giant planet larger than Jupiter
with an orbital period of 1.6 years.
And though the exoplanet can't be seen directly, on a dark night
its parent star epsilon Tauri is easily visible to the unaided eye.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: extrasolar planet
Publications with words: extrasolar planet
See also:
- APOD: 2024 July 8 Á Exoplanet Zoo: Other Stars
- Temperatures on Exoplanet WASP 43b
- APOD: 2023 October 17 Á PDS 70: Disk, Planets, and Moons
- APOD: 2023 September 20 Á Methane Discovered on Distant Exoplanet
- APOD: 2023 June 6 Á Star Eats Planet
- APOD: 2023 February 1 Á The Seventh World of Trappist 1
- APOD: 2023 January 24 Á LHS 475 b: Earth Sized Exoplanet