HD 97037 b
Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization
HD 97037 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star HD 97037, located approximately 105.7 light-years (32.41 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2022 by Multiple Observatories 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 6707.769 Earth masses (21.1 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 20.88 g/cm³ (an iron-enriched, high-compression rocky core), a surface gravity of 45.81 g⊕ (449.24 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 263.4 km/s.
In its orbital architecture around HD 97037, HD 97037 b completes one full revolution every 6449.083 Earth days (17.66Julian years) at a semi-major axis of 6.925 AU (a wide outer-system orbit beyond Jupiter's 5.20 AU distance in our Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 11.7 km/s (compared to Earth's 29.8 km/s). The planet follows a highly eccentric trajectory (e = 0.357, swinging from 4.4528 AU at periapsis out to 9.3972 AU at apoapsis), pointing to past dynamical scattering or secular gravitational perturbations.
❄️ Thermal Regime (Cryogenic Zone): With an equilibrium temperature of 121 K (-152°C / -242°F) and an incident flux of 0.04 S⊕ (~49 W/m²), surface water and volatile species on HD 97037 b would remain locked in cryogenic ice phases unless warmed by subsurface tidal or radiogenic heating.
The host star HD 97037 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,874 K, a radius of 1.2636 R☉, a mass of 1.06 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 1.705 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.077 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, HD 97037 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 6.818 (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: Multiple Observatories · Catalogue Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC / Caltech).
☀️ Host Star Telemetry
| Host Star Name | HD 97037 |
| Spectral Type | Unclassified |
| Effective Temp (Teff) | 5,874 K |
| Stellar Radius | 1.2636 R☉ |
| Stellar Mass | 1.0600 M☉ |
| Bolometric Luminosity | 1.705 L☉ |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | -0.077 dex |
| Stellar Age | — |
| Apparent Magnitude | V: 6.818 · G: 6.643 |
| System Architecture | 1 Star, 1 Planet |
🪐 Orbital & Physical Dynamics
| Semi-Major Axis (a) | 6.925000 AU |
| Orbital Period | 6449.083 days |
| Mean Orbital Velocity | 11.7 km/s |
| Orbital Eccentricity (e) | 0.35700 |
| Orbital Inclination (i) | 14.5610° |
| Mean Bulk Density | 20.88 g/cm³ (263.4 km/s vesc) |
| Insolation Flux | 0.0357 S⊕ (~49 W/m²) |
| Habitable Zone Status | Exterior / Non-HZ |
| Celestial Distance | 105.700 LY (32.413 pc) |