OGLE-TR-122

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OGLE-TR-122
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation
(pronunciation)		 Carina
Right ascension 11h 06m 51.99s[1]
Declination -60° 51′ 45.7″[1]
Characteristics
Spectral type 
  ? (primary)/M (b)[2]
Apparent magnitude 
(infrared, I band)		 15.61 (system)[1]
Variable type Eclipsing binary
Binary orbit
Period (P) 7.269[2] days
Eccentricity (e) 0.205[2]
Inclination (i) 88–90° [2]
Details
Mass 1.0 (primary)[2] / 0.09 (b)[2] M☉
Radius 1.1 (primary)[2] / 0.12 (b)[2] R☉
Temperature 5,700 (primary)[2] K
The Earth-Moon orbit, Saturn, OGLE-TR-122b, Jupiter, and other objects, to scale.
The Earth-Moon orbit, Saturn, OGLE-TR-122b, Jupiter, and other objects, to scale.

OGLE-TR-122 is a binary stellar system containing one of the smallest main-sequence stars whose radius has been measured. It was discovered when the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) survey observed the smaller star eclipsing the larger primary. The orbital period is approximately 7.3 days. The system's primary is thought to resemble the Sun.[2]

The smaller star, OGLE-TR-122b, is estimated to have a radius around 0.12 solar radii, or around 20% larger than Jupiter's, and a mass of around 0.1 solar masses, or approximately 100 times Jupiter's. This makes its average density approximately 50 times the Sun's.[2][3] OGLE-TR-122b's mass is close to the lowest possible mass, estimated to be around 0.07 or 0.08 solar masses, for a hydrogen-fusing star.[4] The observed transit provides the first direct evidence for a star with a radius comparable to Jupiter's.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Additional Planetary and Low-Luminosity Object Transits from the OGLE 2001 and 2002 Observational Campaigns, A. Udalski, G. Pietrzynski, M. Szymanski, M. Kubiak, K. Zebrun, I. Soszynski, O. Szewczyk, and L. Wyrzykowski, Acta Astronomica 53 (June 2003), pp. 133–149.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l A planet-sized transiting star around OGLE-TR-122. Accurate mass and radius near the hydrogen-burning limit, F. Pont, C. H. F. Melo, F. Bouchy, S. Udry, D. Queloz, M. Mayor, and N. C. Santos, Astronomy and Astrophysics 433, #2 (April 11, 2005), pp. L21–L24.
  3. ^ Newfound Star Smaller than Some Planets, Robert Roy Britt, space.com, accessed on line May 16, 2007.
  4. ^ Theory of Low-Mass Stars and Substellar Objects, Gilles Chabrier and Isabelle Baraffe, Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics 38 (2000), pp. 337–377.

[edit] See also

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