Confirmed Exoplanet Discovered 2009

MOA-2008-BLG-310L b

A neptune-like orbiting the unknown MOA-2008-BLG-310L, located approximately 25,114.0 light-years from Earth.

Key parameters at a glance

  • A radius of 5.18 Earth radii
  • A mass of 23.40 Earth masses
  • Surface gravity around 0.87 g
  • Semi-major axis 1.1000 AU
  • Distance from Earth 25,114.01 light-years
  • Earth Similarity Index 0.466
  • Travel time at Voyager 1 speed 442,885,577 years

Context from the literature

MOA-2008-BLG-310Lb is an extrasolar planet which orbits probably the late K-type star MOA-2008-BLG-310L, located at least 20000 light years away in the constellation Scorpius. This planet has mass 23% of Jupiter or 77% of Saturn and orbits at 1.25 AU from the star. This planet was discovered by using the gravitational microlensing method on August 4, 2009. As it is typical for exoplanets detected by microlensing method, the orbital period and eccentricity are not determined.

Excerpted from Wikipedia · full article

MOA-2008-BLG-310L b Planet Profile

Physical Specs

Radius
5.18 R⊕
Radius (Jupiter)
0.462 R♃
Mass
23.40 M⊕
Mass (Jupiter)
0.074 M♃
Density
0.93 g/cm³
Surface Gravity
0.87 g (Earth)

Classification

Planet Type

Neptune-like

ESI Score 0.466
HZ Position Unknown
Controversial No

Discovery

Year 2009
Method Microlensing
Facility MOA
Telescope 1.8 m MOA Telescope

Size rank in cohort

Rank by radius

#361of 574

top 62.7%

This planet

5.18R⊕

Neptune-like median

6.39R⊕

Nearest-size peers

Metric Earth MOA-2008-BLG-310L b Jupiter
Radius (R⊕)1.005.1811.21
Mass (M⊕)1.0023.40317.83
Density (g/cm³)5.510.931.33
Surface Gravity (g)1.000.872.53
Insolation (S⊕)1.000.037

Alternative Mass Estimates

Method Value Interpretation
Best measured mass 23.400 M⊕ Direct mass measurement (not derived).

Percentile among Neptune-like cohort

Radius 5.180 R⊕ · percentile 37 / cohort 574
Mass 23.400 M⊕ · percentile 39 / cohort 574
Distance 7,700.00 pc · percentile 99 / cohort 572
ESI 0.466 · percentile 84 / cohort 574

Orbit & Habitability

Orbital Dynamics

Period
days
Semi-major axis
1.1000 AU
Eccentricity
Inclination
°

Year Length

Orbital period for this planet has not yet been measured.

Eq. Temperature

 

Insolation (S⊕)

Earth = 1.00

Earth Similarity (ESI)

0.466

0 = alien, 1 = Earth-identical

Discovery Paper

Primary reference

Janczak et al. 2010

Instrument

MOA CCD Array

Publication

2010-03

Observation locale

Ground

Host System: MOA-2008-BLG-310L

Spectral Class

Unknown

Effective Temperature

Estimated Age

Stellar Radius

Stellar Mass

0.210 M☉

Metallicity [Fe/H]

Distance
7,700.00 parsec
Light-years 25,114.01 ly
V-band magnitude
mag
Voyager-speed travel 442,885,577 yr

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