HD 106515 A b
Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization
HD 106515 A b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star HD 106515 A, located approximately 111.2 light-years (34.09 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2012 by La Silla Observatory using the Radial Velocity detection technique (measuring periodic Doppler reflex motion in the host star's spectrum), this world measures 12.1 Earth radii (1.08 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 6006.957 Earth masses (18.9 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 18.7 g/cm³ (an iron-enriched, high-compression rocky core), a surface gravity of 41.03 g⊕ (402.37 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 249.2 km/s.
In its orbital architecture around HD 106515 A, HD 106515 A b completes one full revolution every 3626 Earth days (9.93Julian years) at a semi-major axis of 4.48 AU (corresponding to the middle-system regime between Mars at 1.52 AU and Jupiter at 5.20 AU). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 13.4 km/s (compared to Earth's 29.8 km/s). The planet follows a highly eccentric trajectory (e = 0.571, swinging from 1.9219 AU at periapsis out to 7.0381 AU at apoapsis), pointing to past dynamical scattering or secular gravitational perturbations.
❄️ Thermal Regime (Cryogenic Zone): With an equilibrium temperature of 117 K (-156°C / -249°F) and an incident flux of 0.03 S⊕ (~47 W/m²), surface water and volatile species on HD 106515 A b would remain locked in cryogenic ice phases unless warmed by subsurface tidal or radiogenic heating.
The host star HD 106515 A is classified as a solar-type yellow star of spectral type G5 V with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,362 K, a radius of 0.91 R☉, a mass of 0.89 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.614 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 8.2 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.03 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, HD 106515 A shines at apparent V-band magnitude 7.971 (accessible to binoculars and small amateur telescopes) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.
Methodology: Computed using the Schulze-Makuch et al. (2011) weighted metric comparing physical interior (radius, estimated density) and surface thermal regime (escape velocity, equilibrium temperature).
Discovery Facility: La Silla Observatory · Catalogue Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC / Caltech).
☀️ Host Star Telemetry
| Host Star Name | HD 106515 A |
| Spectral Type | G5 V |
| Effective Temp (Teff) | 5,362 K |
| Stellar Radius | 0.9100 R☉ |
| Stellar Mass | 0.8900 M☉ |
| Bolometric Luminosity | 0.614 L☉ |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | 0.030 dex |
| Stellar Age | 8.200 Gyr |
| Apparent Magnitude | V: 7.971 · G: 7.778 |
| System Architecture | 2 Stars, 1 Planet |
🪐 Orbital & Physical Dynamics
| Semi-Major Axis (a) | 4.480000 AU |
| Orbital Period | 3626 days |
| Mean Orbital Velocity | 13.4 km/s |
| Orbital Eccentricity (e) | 0.57100 |
| Orbital Inclination (i) | 29.2000° |
| Mean Bulk Density | 18.7 g/cm³ (249.2 km/s vesc) |
| Insolation Flux | 0.0342 S⊕ (~47 W/m²) |
| Habitable Zone Status | Exterior / Non-HZ |
| Celestial Distance | 111.200 LY (34.092 pc) |