Confirmed Exoplanet Discovered 2014

MOA-2011-BLG-262L b

A neptune-like orbiting the unknown MOA-2011-BLG-262L, located approximately 23,483.2 light-years from Earth.

Key parameters at a glance

  • A radius of 4.29 Earth radii
  • A mass of 17.00 Earth masses
  • Surface gravity around 0.92 g
  • Semi-major axis 0.9500 AU
  • Distance from Earth 23,483.23 light-years
  • Earth Similarity Index 0.522
  • Travel time at Voyager 1 speed 414,126,773 years

Context from the literature

MOA-2011-BLG-262L is a red dwarf with an orbiting exoplanet, both detected through the gravitational microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-262. The planetary system was once believed to be either an exoplanet with 3.2 times the mass of Jupiter and a exomoon with 0.47 times Earth's mass or a red dwarf with a mass of 0.11 solar masses orbited by a ~17 M🜨 planet, but the latter scenario was confirmed in 2024 based on observations of the host star by the Keck telescope, 10 years after the microlensing event.

Excerpted from Wikipedia · full article

MOA-2011-BLG-262L b Planet Profile

Physical Specs

Radius
4.29 R⊕
Radius (Jupiter)
0.383 R♃
Mass
17.00 M⊕
Mass (Jupiter)
0.053 M♃
Density
1.18 g/cm³
Surface Gravity
0.92 g (Earth)

Classification

Planet Type

Neptune-like

ESI Score 0.522
HZ Position Unknown
Controversial No

Discovery

Year 2014
Method Microlensing
Facility MOA
Telescope 1.8 m MOA Telescope

Size rank in cohort

Rank by radius

#499of 574

top 86.8%

This planet

4.29R⊕

Neptune-like median

6.39R⊕

Nearest-size peers

TOI-1803 c 4.29 R⊕ Kepler-554 b 4.29 R⊕ Kepler-1995 b 4.28 R⊕
Metric Earth MOA-2011-BLG-262L b Jupiter
Radius (R⊕)1.004.2911.21
Mass (M⊕)1.0017.00317.83
Density (g/cm³)5.511.181.33
Surface Gravity (g)1.000.922.53
Insolation (S⊕)1.00—0.037

Alternative Mass Estimates

Method Value Interpretation
Best measured mass 17.000 M⊕ Direct mass measurement (not derived).

Percentile among Neptune-like cohort

Radius 4.290 R⊕ · percentile 13 / cohort 574
Mass 17.000 M⊕ · percentile 18 / cohort 574
Distance 7,200.00 pc · percentile 97 / cohort 572
ESI 0.522 · percentile 95 / cohort 574

Orbit & Habitability

Orbital Dynamics

Period
— days
Semi-major axis
0.9500 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)

0.522

0 = alien, 1 = Earth-identical

Discovery Paper

Primary reference

Bennett et al. 2014

Instrument

MOA CCD Array

Publication

2014-04

Observation locale

Ground

Host System: MOA-2011-BLG-262L

Spectral Class

Unknown

Effective Temperature

—

Estimated Age

—

Stellar Radius

—

Stellar Mass

0.110 M☉

Metallicity [Fe/H]

—

Distance
7,200.00 parsec
Light-years 23,483.23 ly
V-band magnitude
— mag
Voyager-speed travel 414,126,773 yr
Wikipedia →

Similar Worlds

OGLE-2018-BLG-0506L b

Neptune-like · Unknown

Radius 4.18 R⊕ · 18,264.7 ly

KMT-2023-BLG-0830L b

Neptune-like · Unknown

Radius 4.41 R⊕ · 23,646.3 ly

OGLE-2018-BLG-1126L b

Neptune-like · Unknown

Radius 4.41 R⊕ · 18,590.9 ly

OGLE-2015-BLG-1670L b

Neptune-like · Unknown

Radius 4.42 R⊕ · 21,852.5 ly

MOA-2011-BLG-291L b

Neptune-like · Unknown

Radius 4.43 R⊕ · 14,350.9 ly

OGLE-2017-BLG-0448L b

Neptune-like · Unknown

Radius 4.08 R⊕ · 24,559.5 ly

Explore Related Categories

Neptune-like Planets Microlensing Discoveries MOA Mission