CoRoT-16b is a transiting

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

orbiting the G or K type main sequence star CoRoT-16 2,433 light years away in the southern

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Scutum The ''scutum'' (; plural ''scuta'') was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formati ...

. The planet was discovered in June 2011 by the French-led CoRoT mission.

Discovery

CoRoT-16b was detected using the transit method, which measures the brightness changes during an eclipse. However, this planet has an eccentric orbit, which is unusual due to CoRoT-16b's proximity to its parent star and the age.

Properties

Due to its orbit, CoRoT-16b is classified as a "

hot Jupiter Hot Jupiters (sometimes called hot Saturns) are a class of gas giant exoplanets that are inferred to be physically similar to Jupiter but that have very short orbital periods (). The close proximity to their stars and high surface-atmosphere temp ...

". It only takes about 5 days to orbit CoRoT-16, but has an unusually eccentric orbit. CoRoT-16b has 52.9% the mass of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

, but is 17% larger than the latter. Due to the low mass and high radius, CoRoT-16b has 41% the density of water; the orbit gives it an equilibrium temperature of 1,086 K. However, this is only an estimate due to the eccentricity of CoRoT-16b.

References

{{Scutum (constellation) Hot Jupiters Transiting exoplanets Exoplanets discovered in 2011

16b "16B" is a song by Filipino-Australian singer-actor James Reid. The song was released on May 5, 2018 as the lead single off the collaborative mixtape from his own label Careless Music Manila. Background According to "Push", Reid explained in his ...

Scutum (constellation)