tau Boo planetary system
tau Boo is a yellow-white main-sequence star of spectral type F7 V approximately 51.1 light-years from Earth (15.65 parsecs). It hosts 1 confirmed exoplanet.
Host star
- Name
- tau Boo
- Spectral type
- F7 V
- Effective temperature
- 6,466 K
- Mass
- 1.32 M☉ (solar masses)
- Radius
- 1.43 R☉ (solar radii)
- Distance
- 15.65 pc (51.1 ly)
- Hipparcos catalog
- HIP 67275
Confirmed planets (1)
| Planet | Class | Mass (M⊕) | Radius (R⊕) | Period (d) | Distance (AU) | Eq. temp (K) | Discovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tau Boo b | Neptune-like | 1891.00 | 12.80 | 3.31 | 0.0490 | — | 1996 |
The planets in detail
tau Boo b is a Neptune-like world with about 12.80 Earth radii and 1891.00 Earth masses. It orbits tau Boo at 0.0490 AU with a 3.3-day year, and no published equilibrium temperature. It was confirmed in 1996 via radial velocity (Doppler) measurements.
Discovery
The single planet in the tau Boo system was confirmed in 1996 using radial velocity (Doppler) measurements. Detection facilities: Lick 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 206.8135°, declination 17.4572°. 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.
