GQ Lupi b
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Neuhäuser et al. |
| Discovery site | ESO's Paranal Observatory, Chile |
| Discovery date | April 2005 |
| Direct imaging | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Periastron | 63.5 au |
| Apoastron | 132 au |
| 97.7+8.9 −7.1 au | |
| Eccentricity | 0.35+0.10 −0.09 |
| 921+159 −124 years | |
| Inclination | 48°+4° −5° |
| 257°+8° −5° | |
| 176°+10° −24° | |
| Star | GQ Lupi A |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 3.7±0.7 RJ | |
| Mass | 30 (10 – 40) MJ 22+2 −3 MJ 33±10 MJ ~20±10 MJ ~10 – 40 MJ 26.4+2.9 −3.8 MJ |
| 3.83+0.17 −0.18 cgs | |
| Temperature | 2719±14 K |
Spectral type | M9 (M8 – M9) |
GQ Lupi b, or GQ Lupi B is a substellar companion to the T Tauri star GQ Lupi. Classified as either an exoplanet or a brown dwarf, this object is still in the early stages of its formation, accreting gas from its circumplanetary disk. GQ Lupi b is orbiting at nearly 100 astronomical units from the star, with an estimated orbital period around a millenium. The object was discovered by R. Neuhäuser et al., through direct imaging and announced in April 2005, less than a month before the full confirmation of 2M1207b was announced. Along with 2M1207b, this was one of the first extrasolar planet candidates to be directly imaged.