HD 108874 b
Encyclopedia
HD 108874 b is a gas giant
Gas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...

 announced in 2003. The orbit lies in the star's habitable zone
Habitable zone
In astronomy and astrobiology, a habitable zone is an umbrella term for regions that are considered favourable to life. The concept is inferred from the empirical study of conditions favourable for Life on Earth...

. It is expected that any moons
Extrasolar moon
An extrasolar moon, or exomoon, is a natural satellite that orbits an extrasolar planet or other extrasolar body. Although no extrasolar moons have yet been observed, it can be inferred from the empirical study of natural satellites in the Solar System that they are likely to be common elements of...

 orbiting this planet are enriched in carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

, and are thus quite different from the silicate
Silicate
A silicate is a compound containing a silicon bearing anion. The great majority of silicates are oxides, but hexafluorosilicate and other anions are also included. This article focuses mainly on the Si-O anions. Silicates comprise the majority of the earth's crust, as well as the other...

-rich bodies in our Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

.
The planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

 is believed to be a Water Cloud Jovian like the planet HD 108874 c
HD 108874 c
HD 108874 c is a gas giant discovered in 2005 which orbits beyond the star's habitable zone, and receives insolation 15.9% that of Earth. It has minimum mass similar to Jupiter, although since inclination of the orbit is not known. The true mass of this planet will probably be much greater.This...

. The planet is positioned at earthlike temperatures at mean orbital distance of 1.051 + 0.02 AU within habitability zone.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK