The Astronomical Journal (Jan 2024)
LHS 475 b: A Potential Venus Analog Orbiting a Nearby M Dwarf
- Kristo Ment,
- David Charbonneau,
- Jonathan Irwin,
- Jennifer G. Winters,
- Emily Pass,
- Avi Shporer,
- Karen A. Collins,
- Kevin I. Collins,
- Eric L. N. Jensen,
- Richard P. Schwarz,
- Keith Horne,
- Zahra Essack,
- Veselin B. Kostov,
- Michelle Kunimoto,
- Alan Levine,
- Sara Seager,
- Roland Vanderspek,
- Joshua N. Winn
Affiliations
- Kristo Ment
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ; [email protected]
- David Charbonneau
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ; [email protected]
- Jonathan Irwin
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ; [email protected]
- Jennifer G. Winters
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ; [email protected]; Williams College , 880 Main Street, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
- Emily Pass
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ; [email protected]
- Avi Shporer
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Karen A. Collins
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ; [email protected]
- Kevin I. Collins
- ORCiD
- George Mason University , 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
- Eric L. N. Jensen
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Swarthmore College , Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA
- Richard P. Schwarz
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA ; [email protected]
- Keith Horne
- ORCiD
- SUPA Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews , Fife, KY16 9SS Scotland, UK
- Zahra Essack
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Veselin B. Kostov
- ORCiD
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; SETI Institute , 189 Bernardo Ave, Suite 200, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- Michelle Kunimoto
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Alan Levine
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Sara Seager
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge , MA 02139, USA
- Roland Vanderspek
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Joshua N. Winn
- ORCiD
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad1b58
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 167,
no. 5
p. 197
Abstract
Based on photometric observations by TESS, we present the discovery of a potential Venus analog transiting LHS 475, an M3 dwarf located 12.5 pc from the Sun. The mass of the star is 0.274 ± 0.015 M _☉ . The planet, originally reported as TOI 910.01, has an orbital period of 2.0291010 ± 0.0000017 days and an estimated radius of 0.975 ± 0.058 R _⊕ . We confirm the validity and source of the transit signal with MEarth and Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope ground-based follow-up photometry. We present radial velocity data from CHIRON that rule out massive companions. In accordance with the observed mass–radius distribution of exoplanets as well as planet formation theory, we expect this planetary companion to be terrestrial, with an estimated radial velocity semiamplitude of 1.1 m s ^−1 . LHS 475 b is likely too hot to be habitable but is a suitable candidate for emission and transmission spectroscopy.
Keywords
