2024-10-03 03:27:29
An international team of astronomers announced the discovery of a new exoplanet orbiting the star HD 86728 as part of the NEID Earth Twin Survey (NETS). As Day.Az reports, the study was published on the arXiv preprint server.
The exoplanet was discovered using the NEID spectrograph mounted on the 3.5-meter WIYN1 telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This spectrograph is used to search for low-mass exoplanets in the vicinity of bright stars. The exoplanet orbits the star HD 86728, which is located at a distance of 48.6 light years from Earth and belongs to the spectral type G3Va.
The study used data collected over three years over 137 nights of observations. The new exoplanet, designated HD 86728 b, has a mass of about 9.16 Earth masses and moves in a circular orbit with a period of 31.15 days. It is located at a distance of 0.19 astronomical units from its star.
The researchers noted that most planets with similar characteristics are usually part of multiplanet systems. If HD 86728 b turns out to be the only planet in this system, then it will be among the rare exoplanets – less than 12 percent of such objects are discovered without “planetary counterparts.” However, further observations are needed to confirm this.
The star HD 86728 has a solar mass, a radius of 1.24 solar radii, and a temperature of about 5610 Kelvin. Its metallicity is 0.2, indicating a relatively rich abundance of heavy elements compared to the Sun. These parameters are important for understanding the conditions for the formation of exoplanets around such stars.
Scientists emphasize that instruments like NEID will make it possible in the future to find Earth analogues and exoplanets with longer orbital periods.