WD 0806-661 b: Photographed, Not Inferred
Gas giant around WD 0806-661
It is 1.08 times Jupiter's radius, closest in size to Jupiter, and 2224.8 times Earth's mass. Its equilibrium temperature is 357 K, hotter than any desert. The host star WD 0806-661 runs at 10393 K with 0.60 times the Sun's mass.
Radius
12.11 Earth radii
Mass
2224.8 Earth masses
Equilibrium temperature
357 K (measured)
Host star
WD 0806-661 at 10393 K
Distance
63 light-years
Where this planet stands on each testable criterion
Inside the habitable zone. No.
A measured mass, not just a radius. Yes.
A measured temperature rather than one derived from the star. Yes.
Any detection of an atmosphere. Not recorded in the archive.
What the picture gives
Photons from the planet itself rather than an inference from the star.
This is one of the rare planets that has actually been photographed. Fewer than a hundred of the thousands known were found this way, and they are mostly young giants far from their stars.
Found by Spitzer Space Telescope in 2011.
Fewer than a hundred planets have been photographed rather than inferred. Does \
seeing one directly change how real it feels to you?
