ups And planetary system
ups And is a yellow-white main-sequence star of spectral type F8 V approximately 43.7 light-years from Earth (13.41 parsecs). It hosts 3 confirmed exoplanets.
Host star
- Name
- ups And
- Spectral type
- F8 V
- Effective temperature
- 6,157 K
- Mass
- 1.30 M☉ (solar masses)
- Radius
- 1.56 R☉ (solar radii)
- Distance
- 13.41 pc (43.7 ly)
- Hipparcos catalog
- HIP 7513
Confirmed planets (3)
| Planet | Class | Mass (M⊕) | Radius (R⊕) | Period (d) | Distance (AU) | Eq. temp (K) | Discovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ups And b | Neptune-like | 218.53 | 14.00 | 4.62 | 0.0592 | — | 1996 |
| ups And c | Neptune-like | 4443.24 | 12.30 | 241.26 | 0.8278 | — | 1999 |
| ups And d | Neptune-like | 3257.74 | 12.50 | 1276.46 | 2.5133 | — | 1999 |
The planets in detail
ups And b is a Neptune-like world with about 14.00 Earth radii and 218.53 Earth masses. It orbits ups And at 0.0592 AU with a 4.6-day year, and no published equilibrium temperature. It was confirmed in 1996 via radial velocity (Doppler) measurements.
ups And c is a Neptune-like world with about 12.30 Earth radii and 4443.24 Earth masses. It orbits ups And at 0.8278 AU with a 241-day year, and no published equilibrium temperature. Its orbit is notably eccentric (e = 0.26), meaning the distance to its star — and the irradiation it receives — varies substantially over each year. It was confirmed in 1999 via radial velocity (Doppler) measurements.
ups And d is a Neptune-like world with about 12.50 Earth radii and 3257.74 Earth masses. It orbits ups And at 2.5133 AU with a 3.5-Earth-year orbit, and no published equilibrium temperature. Its orbit is notably eccentric (e = 0.30), meaning the distance to its star — and the irradiation it receives — varies substantially over each year. It was confirmed in 1999 via radial velocity (Doppler) measurements.
Discovery
The ups And system was first identified in 1996, with confirmation work continuing through 1999 using radial velocity (Doppler) measurements. Detection facilities: Lick Observatory, Multiple Observatories.
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 24.1984°, declination 41.4038°. 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.
