CoRoT-16b

CoRoT-16b

CoRoT-16 compared to Jupiter
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Ollivier et al.
Discovery site	CoRoT space telescope
Discovery date	10 June 2011
Detection method	Transit
Orbital characteristics
Apastron	0.0847 AU (12,670,000 km)
Periastron	0.0389 AU (5,820,000 km)
Semi-major axis	0.0618 ± 0.0015 AU (9,250,000 ± 220,000 km)[1]
Eccentricity	0.37+0.11 −0.12[2]
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.35227±0.00020 d[1]
Inclination	85.01°+0.94° −1.20°[1]
Time of periastron	2,454,923.9145±0.0022 JD[2]
Argument of periastron	161°+33° −29°[2]
Semi-amplitude	62.6+11.0 −9.9 km/s[2]
Star	CoRoT-16
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	1.17+0.14 −0.16 RJ[2]
Mass	0.529+0.098 −0.096 MJ[2]
Mean density	0.41+0.22 −0.14 g/cm3[2]
Temperature	1,086 K (813 °C; 1,495 °F)[3]

CoRoT-16b is a transiting exoplanet orbiting the G or K type main sequence star CoRoT-16 2,433 light years^[4] away in the southern constellation Scutum. The planet was discovered in June 2011 by the French-led CoRoT mission. CoRoT-16b was detected using the transit method, which measures the brightness changes during an eclipse. However, this planet has an eccentric orbit, which is unusual due to CoRoT-16b's proximity to its parent star and the age.^[1]

Due to its orbit, CoRoT-16b is classified as a "hot Jupiter". It only takes about 5 days to orbit CoRoT-16, but has an unusually eccentric orbit. CoRoT-16b has 52.9% the mass of Jupiter, but is 17% larger than the latter. Due to the low mass and high radius, CoRoT-16b has 41% the density of water; the orbit gives it an equilibrium temperature of 1,086 K. However, this is only an estimate due to the eccentricity of CoRoT-16b.