GJ 581

Planetary system · 20.5 light-years away · also HIP 74995

GJ 581 is 20.5 light-years from the Sun. The NASA Exoplanet Archive lists 3 planets around this M3.0 V star; the first was found in 2005 by radial velocity (La Silla Observatory).

Fly there in 3D

Worth knowing

GJ 581 e goes round its star every 3.15 days, 28 times as often as Mercury goes round the Sun.

The star

Spectral typeM3.0 V
Surface temperature3,500 K
Mass0.295 solar masses
Radius0.302 solar radii
Luminosity0.01236 times the Sun
Apparent magnitude10.57
Ageabout 4.3 billion years
Distance from the Sun20.5 light-years (6.3 parsecs)
Position (J2000)RA 229.8565°, Dec -7.7227°
ConstellationLibra

Planets (3)

PlanetYearOrbitRadiusMassFound
GJ 581 e3.15 days0.0280 AU1.38 R⊕ estimated2.48 M⊕Radial Velocity, 2009
GJ 581 b5.37 days0.0399 AU4.79 R⊕ estimated20.5 M⊕Radial Velocity, 2005
GJ 581 c12.9 days0.0718 AU2.5 R⊕ estimated6.81 M⊕Radial Velocity, 2007

Values are the NASA Exoplanet Archive’s composite parameters. A radius marked estimated comes from a mass–radius relation; a mass marked minimum is M sin i. Planet sizes and colours in the 3D view are renderings: none of these worlds has been photographed as more than a point of light.

Sources

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