2M0437 b
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| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Gaidos et al. |
| Discovery site | Subaru Telescope, Hawaii, USA |
| Discovery date | October 2021 |
| Imaged | |
| Designations | |
| 2MASS J04372171+2651014 b | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 118 ± 1.3 AU (1.765×1010 ± 190,000,000 km)[1] | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mass | 3-5[1] MJ |
| 3.6[2] | |
| Temperature | ~1200 K[2] |
2M0437 b, or 2MASS J04372171+2651014 b, is an extrasolar planet that orbits the pre-main sequence red dwarf 2MASS J04372171+2651014, 418 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus. It is a gas giant, with a mass 4 times that of Jupiter. It is one of the few exoplanets directly imaged. The planet is of importance to astronomers as it challenges models of planet formation by nucleus accretion and disk instability.[3][4]
The host star is a low mass red dwarf star (a mass of 0.15-0.18 solar masses) that belongs to the pre-main sequence with a temperature of 3100 K.[1] Although K2 detected a quasiperiodic dimming of nearby circumstellar dust, the star it lacks an excess infrared emission detectable from a circumstellar disk and its Hα emission is not proportional to accretion. There is also evidence of a second extremely faint object 75 arc-seconds apart that is possibly linked to the star.[5]
Discovery
2M0437 b was first observed in March 2018 in images from the Subaru Telescope. The observations required three years to confirm that the observed object was not a background star since the star has a very slow apparent movement across the sky.[6]
