Mu Arae e, also known as HD 160691 e, later named Sancho /ˈsæntʃoʊ/,[2] is one of the four extrasolar planets orbiting the star Mu Arae of the constellation Ara.
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Butler, Marcy |
Discovery site | California, USA |
Discovery date | June 13, 2002 |
Radial velocity | |
Orbital characteristics | |
Apastron | 5.750 AU (860,200,000 km) |
Periastron | 4.719 AU (706,000,000 km) |
5.235 AU (783,100,000 km)[1] | |
Eccentricity | 0.0985 ± 0.0627[1] |
4205.8 ± 758.9[1] d 11.51 y | |
2,450,541 ± 96[1] | |
57.6 ± 43.7[1] | |
Semi-amplitude | 18.1 ± 1.1[1] |
Star | Mu Arae |
In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.[3] The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names.[4] In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning name was Sancho for this planet.[5] The winning name was submitted by the Planetario de Pamplona, Spain. Sancho was the squire of the lead character of the novel Don Quixote.[6]
The planet's discovery was announced on June 13, 2002. Mu Arae e is a gas giant at least 1.8 times as massive as Jupiter. The planet orbits at Jupiter-like distance at 5.235 AU.