HIP 948 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

HIP 948 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star HIP 948, located approximately 113.7 light-years (34.85 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 6547.265 Earth masses (20.6 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 20.38 g/cm³ (an iron-enriched, high-compression rocky core), a surface gravity of 44.72 g⊕ (438.55 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 260.2 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around HIP 948, HIP 948 b completes one full revolution every 24955.458 Earth days (68.32Julian years) at a semi-major axis of 15.037 AU (a wide outer-system orbit beyond Jupiter's 5.20 AU distance in our Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 6.6 km/s (compared to Earth's 29.8 km/s). Its moderate orbital eccentricity of e = 0.23 carries the world between 11.5785 AU at periapsis and 18.4955 AU at apoapsis, driving measurable seasonal insolation cycles.

❄️ Thermal Regime (Cryogenic Zone): With an equilibrium temperature of 46 K (-227°C / -377°F) and an incident flux of 0.00 S⊕ (~1 W/m²), surface water and volatile species on HIP 948 b would remain locked in cryogenic ice phases unless warmed by subsurface tidal or radiogenic heating.

The host star HIP 948 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 4,497 K, a radius of 0.6885 R☉, a mass of 0.71 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.174 L☉. From Earth, HIP 948 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 9.92 (accessible to binoculars and small amateur telescopes) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

Discovery Facility: Multiple Observatories · Catalogue Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC / Caltech).