nu Oph planetary system
nu Oph is an orange main-sequence star of spectral type K0 III approximately 151 light-years from Earth (46.21 parsecs). It hosts 2 confirmed exoplanets.
Host star
- Name
- nu Oph
- Spectral type
- K0 III
- Effective temperature
- 4,887 K
- Mass
- 2.61 M☉ (solar masses)
- Radius
- 12.24 R☉ (solar radii)
- Distance
- 46.21 pc (151 ly)
- Hipparcos catalog
- HIP 88048
Confirmed planets (2)
| Planet | Class | Mass (M⊕) | Radius (R⊕) | Period (d) | Distance (AU) | Eq. temp (K) | Discovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nu Oph b | Neptune-like | 7057.73 | 12.00 | 529.93 | 1.7650 | — | 2012 |
| nu Oph c | Neptune-like | 7838.32 | 12.00 | 3180.60 | 5.8290 | — | 2012 |
The planets in detail
nu Oph b is a Neptune-like world with about 12.00 Earth radii and 7057.73 Earth masses. It orbits nu Oph at 1.7650 AU with a 530-day year, and no published equilibrium temperature. It was confirmed in 2012 via radial velocity (Doppler) measurements.
nu Oph c is a Neptune-like world with about 12.00 Earth radii and 7838.32 Earth masses. It orbits nu Oph at 5.8290 AU with a 8.7-Earth-year orbit, and no published equilibrium temperature. It was confirmed in 2012 via radial velocity (Doppler) measurements.
Discovery
All 2 planets in the nu Oph system were detected in 2012 using radial velocity (Doppler) measurements. Detection facilities: Okayama Astrophysical Observatory.
Observing from Earth
Exoplanets cannot be resolved visually with amateur telescopes — the host star's glare is overwhelming and even space-based direct imaging requires sophisticated coronagraphs. What you can observe is the host star itself at right ascension 269.7566°, declination -9.7741°. Use the 3D orrery above to inspect orbital geometry, planetary scale, and the habitable-zone overlay — the orbits are computed from the published Keplerian elements and animate at user-controlled time rates.
