61 Virginis c (abbreviated 61 Vir c) is an exoplanet orbiting the 5th apparent-magnitude G-type main-sequence star 61 Virginis in the constellation Virgo. 61 Virginis c has a minimum mass of 18.2 times that of Earth and orbits one-fifth the distance to the star as Earth orbits the Sun, at a precise distance of 0.2175 AU with an eccentricity of 0.14. This planet would most likely be a gas giant like Uranus and Neptune. This planet was discovered on 14 December 2009 from using a precise radial velocity method taken at Keck and Anglo-Australian Observatories.[1][2]
Discovery | |
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Discovered by | Vogt et al. |
Discovery site | Keck Observatory Anglo-Australian Observatory |
Discovery date | 2009-12-14 |
Detection method | Radial velocity |
Orbital characteristics | |
Apastron | 0.2487 AU (37,200,000 km) |
Periastron | 0.1863 AU (27,870,000 km) |
Semi-major axis | 0.2175±0.0001 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.14±0.06 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 38.021±0.034 d 0.10409 y |
Average orbital speed | 62.45 |
Time of periastron | 2453369.166 |
Argument of periastron | 341±38 |
Star | 61 Virginis |
61 Virginis system | |
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Stars | |
Planets |