GQ Lupi

GQ Lupi
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Lupus
Right ascension 15h 49m 12.144s[1]
Declination −35° 39′ 03.95″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 11.40[1]
Characteristics
Spectral type K7V[1]
B−V color index 0.96[1]
Variable type T Tauri variable[2]
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ) RA: −27[1] mas/yr
Dec.: −14[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π) 6.4 ± 1.9[2] mas
Distance approx. 500 ly
(approx. 160 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV) ~5[3]
Details
Mass 0.7[4] M☉
Age <2 million[4] years
Other designations
CD−35°10525, GQ Lup[1]
Database references
SIMBAD data

GQ Lupi is a T Tauri variable star approximately 500 light-years away in the constellation of Lupus.[2] The star is young and has about 70% of the Sun's mass.[4]

Possible planetary system

In 2005, Ralph Neuhäuser and his colleagues reported a substellar object, GQ Lupi b, orbiting the star. Along with 2M1207b, this was one of the first extrasolar planet candidates to be directly imaged. The image was made with the VLT telescope at Paranal Observatory, Chile, on June 25, 2004. Depending on its mass and the definition of a planet, GQ Lupi b may or may not be considered a planet.[5] As of 2006, the International Astronomical Union Working Group on Extrasolar Planets described GQ Lupi b as a "possible planetary-mass companion to a young star."[6]

The GQ Lupi system
Companion Mass Observed separation
(AU)
b 1–36[7][2] MJ 103 ± 37[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h GQ Lupi, entry, SIMBAD. Accessed on line June 13, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d Astrometric and photometric monitoring of GQ Lupi and its sub-stellar companion, Ralph Neuhaeuser, Markus Mugrauer, Andreas Seifahrt, Tobias Schmidt, and Nikolaus Vogt, Astronomy and Astrophysics 484, #1 (2008), pp. 281–291. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078493. Bibcode: 2008A&A...484..281N
  3. ^ From parallax and apparent magnitude.
  4. ^ a b c First image of exoplanet orbiting Sun-like star, Kelly Young, April 4, 2005, NewScientist.com news service. Accessed on line June 13, 2008.
  5. ^ Is this a Brown Dwarf or an Exoplanet? New Young Sub-stellar Companion Imaged with the VLT, ESO Press Release 09/05, April 7, 2005. Accessed on line June 13, 2008.
  6. ^ Lists of Extrasolar Planets, IAU Working Group on Extrasolar Planets, August 28, 2006. Accessed on line June 13, 2008.
  7. ^ a b Planet : GQ Lup b, Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. Accessed on line June 13, 2008

External links