GD 66

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GD 66 is a 0.64 solar mass white dwarf star located 166 light years from Earth in Auriga constellation. RA 05h 20m 38s, DEC +30° 48′ 34″[1]

This star may have a companion planet in a 4.5 year orbit. The star is a pulsating white dwarf of type DAV, with an extremely stable period. Small varations in the phase of pulsation suggest that the star is moving in a small circle due to the gravitational pull of a smaller unseen body. This method is similar to that used to discover Pulsar Planets, except that the observations were in visible light instead of radio waves. However, more data is still needed to confirm this hypothesis [2].

The best estimate of the candidate planet's properties are 2.11 (± 0.14)[3] Jupiter masses, an orbital separation of 2.356 (± 0.081)[3] AU and a period of 1650 (± 77)[3] days.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Planetquest profile
  2. ^ Astro-ph 0801.3104 [1]
  3. ^ a b c Notes for Planet GD 66 b
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