PSR B1257+12 c
Planet· orbits the Sun
PSR B1257+12 c ('Poltergeist') — a super-Earth (~4.3 M⊕) on a 66-day orbit around the pulsar, one of the two first exoplanets ever confirmed. Whatever it is, it is scoured by the neutron star's radiation. Mass is a timing minimum; no density is quoted.
Open in 3D viewSee PSR B1257+12 c in the live, interactive 3D map
Key facts
Minimum mass
2.57 × 10²⁵ kg
4.3 M⊕
Year
66.54 Earth days
Distance from PSR B1257+12
0.36 AU
Science
Physical
- Minimum mass (m·sin i)
- 2.57 × 10²⁵ kg · 4.3 M⊕
- Radius
- Not measured
Orbital
- Semi-major axis
- 0.36 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.0186
- Inclination
- 0.00 °
- Orbital period
- 66.5 days
- Perihelion
- 0.353 AU
- Aphelion
- 0.367 AU
- Mean orbital velocity
- 58.9 km/s
Composition
- Bulk composition
- A super-Earth of ~4.3 Earth masses on a 66-day orbit around the pulsar — one of the two worlds whose 1992 discovery opened the entire field of exoplanets. Bathed in the neutron star's radiation; true nature unknown.
- Surface appearance
- Appearance based on NASA/JPL-Caltech's artist's concept. No spacecraft has imaged this world, so its real appearance is unknown — The surface shown is an artistic representation, shown only in Vision mode; Realism shows a plain spectral colour.
Discovery & history
- Method
- Pulsar-timing detection
- Name
- Designated 'c' under the IAU planet-lettering convention; no IAU proper name has been assigned. (Historically also labelled A, B, C.)
One of the two planets announced in 1992 by Wolszczan & Frail — among the first exoplanets ever confirmed.
Images
Never imaged — this world is known only from the split-second shifts it causes in its pulsar's radio beat. An artist's concept of the whole system is on the system view; no image of the planet itself exists.