NASA (Exoplanet Catalog artwork)PSR B1257+12 c
also named PoltergeistOne of the very first exoplanets, found around the corpse of an exploded star
Overview
PSR B1257+12 c, alternatively designated PSR B1257+12 B, also named Poltergeist, is an extrasolar planet approximately 2,300 light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. It was one of the first planets ever discovered outside the Solar System, and is one of three pulsar planets known to be orbiting the pulsar Lich.
Source: Wikipedia
NASA: PSR B1257+12 c is a super Earth exoplanet that orbits a Pulsar-type star. Its mass is 4.3 Earths, it takes 66.5 days to complete one orbit of its star, and is 0.36 AU from its star. Its discovery was announced in 1992.
Why it matters
- Announced in 1992 by Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail, three years before the first planet around a normal star.
- About four Earth masses, bathed in radiation from a pulsar that spins 161 times per second.
- Probably formed from debris left after the supernova — a second generation of planets.
NASA puts it this way: “PSR B1257+12 c is a super Earth exoplanet that orbits an unknown-type star. Its mass is 4.3 Earths, it takes 66.5 days to complete one orbit of its star, and is 0.36 AU from its star. Its discovery was announced in 1992.”
Discovery & system
- Discovered
- 1992 · Pulsar Timing · Arecibo Observatory
- Discovery paper
- Wolszczan et al. 1992
- Discoverers
- Aleksander Wolszczan
- Host star
- PSR B1257+12 · 1.4 M☉
- System
- 3 known planets
- Siblings
- PSR B1257+12 b, PSR B1257+12 d
The system
| World | Period | Distance | Radius | Mass | Temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSR B1257+12 b | 25.3 d | 0.19 AU | 0.34 R⊕ | 0.02 M⊕ | — |
| PSR B1257+12 c | 66.5 d | 0.36 AU | 1.91 R⊕ | 4.3 M⊕ | — |
| PSR B1257+12 d | 98.2 d | 0.46 AU | 1.8 R⊕ | 3.9 M⊕ | — |
By the numbers
- Radius
- 1.91 R⊕12,169 km
- Mass
- 4.3 M⊕25.68 ×10²⁴ kg
- Orbital period
- 66.5 d0.18 yr
- Distance from star
- 0.36 AU54 million km
- Eccentricity
- 0.019nearly circular
- Distance from Earth
- 1,957 ly600 pc
- Density
- 3.39 g/cm³0.62 × Earth
Sources
Image: NASA (Exoplanet Catalog artwork) · NASA media: generally free of copyright · image page
Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Taglines and highlights are editorial.