Tau Boötis b facts for kids
Tau Boötis b is a planet that orbits a star outside our Solar System. Scientists call these planets "exoplanets". This exoplanet is about 51 light years away from Earth. That's a very long distance! The temperature on Tau Boötis b is extremely hot, around 1600 Kelvin. This is hot enough to melt many rocks.
Discovery of Tau Boötis b
Tau Boötis b was found in 1996. It was one of the first exoplanets ever discovered. A team led by Paul Butler found it orbiting a star named Tau Boötis. They used a special method called the radial velocity method. This method looks for tiny wobbles in a star. These wobbles can show that a planet's gravity is pulling on the star.
Orbit and Size
Tau Boötis b is a very large planet. It is more than four times bigger than Jupiter, which is the largest planet in our Solar System. This giant planet orbits its star very quickly. One full trip around its star takes only about 3 days and 7.5 hours. That's much faster than Earth's 365-day orbit around the Sun!
Images for kids
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VLT's wide view of the star Tau Boötis, which Tau Boötis b orbits.
See also
In Spanish: Tau Bootis b para niños
