Tau Boötis b
Artist's impression of Tau Boötis b orbiting close to its parent star. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Butler et al. |
| Discovery site | University of California |
| Discovery date | 1996 |
| Doppler Spectroscopy | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 0.0481 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.023 ± 0.015 |
| 3.312463 ± 0.000014 d | |
| Inclination | 44 |
| 2,446,957.81 ± 0.54 | |
| 188 | |
| Semi-amplitude | 461.1 |
| Star | Tau Boötis |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 1.06 RJ | |
| Mass | 5.5–6 MJ |
| Temperature | 1,700 K (1,430 °C; 2,600 °F) |
Tau Boötis b, or more precisely Tau Boötis Ab, is an extrasolar planet approximately 51 light-years away. The planet and its host star is one of the planetary systems selected by the International Astronomical Union as part of NameExoWorlds, their public process for giving proper names to exoplanets and their host star (where no proper name already exists). The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names, and the IAU planned to announce the new names in mid-December 2015. However, the IAU annulled the vote as the winning name was judged not to conform with the IAU rules for naming exoplanets.