Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

EXOPLANETS

A diverse planetary trio around a naked-eye star

Nature Astronomy volume 5, pages 746–747 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Observations from the brand-new CHEOPS mission reveal a third long-period transiting planet around the naked-eye star ν2 Lupi. Precise measurements of the masses and radii of planets around this star show a diversity of planetary compositions possibly ranging from bare rock to a significant volatile atmosphere.

The host star ν2 Lupi is a G-type main-sequence star located 48.3 light years away from the Sun, making it one of the closest Sun-like stars, and is one of only three naked-eye stars found to host multiple transiting planets. With an age of at least eight billion years, ν2 Lupi is considerably older than the Sun2. ν2 Lupi will continue to burn hydrogen in its core for another billion years or so, after which it will expand to many times its previous size and become a red giant. Compared to the Sun, the atmosphere of ν2 Lupi contains relatively low amounts of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. For example, the ratio of iron to hydrogen in its atmosphere is about half the value measured for the Sun. These ‘metals’ are believed to be fundamental building blocks for the planets. ν2 Lupi provides a great opportunity for the detailed study of planets formed in metal-poor environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Illustration of the ν2 Lupi planetary system as observed by CHEOPS.

References

  1. Delrez, L. et al. Nat. Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01381-5 (2021).

  2. Ecuvillon, A., Israelian, G., Pont, F., Santos, N. C. & Mayor, M. Astron. Astrophys. 461, 171–182 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Mayor, M. et al. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/1109.2497 (2011).

  4. Ricker, G. R. et al. J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst. 1, 014003 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kane, S. R. et al. Astron. J. 160, 129 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Benz, W. et al. Exp. Astron. 51, 109–151 (2021).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fulton, B. J. et al. Astron. J. 154, 109 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Chelsea X. Huang

Authors
  1. Chelsea X. Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chelsea X. Huang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huang, C.X. A diverse planetary trio around a naked-eye star. Nat Astron 5, 746–747 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01386-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01386-0

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing