Gliese 876 b is a giant planet orbiting the red dwarf Gliese 876, about fifteen light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. It was found in 1998 by two teams working independently, one led by Geoffrey Marcy and Paul Butler, and one by Xavier Delfosse and colleagues in Geneva, using the radial velocity method. It was the first planet found around a red dwarf, a type of star that is by far the most common in the galaxy. Gliese 876 b is about twice the mass of Jupiter and orbits in about 61 days. Later observations revealed more planets in the system, locked in a chain of orbital resonances, which has been very useful for studying how planetary systems form.
Before and after
- from 20 May 1998 to 26 May 19981998 War in Abkhazia
- 1 June 1998Founding of European Central Bank
- 5 June 1998Creation of Symbian
- from 6 June 1998 to 22 February 2004Premiere of Sex and the City
- 23 June 1998Discovery of Gliese 876 b
- 25 June 1998Aarhus Convention
- 27 June 1998Construction of Kuala Lumpur International Airport
- 6 July 1998Construction of Hong Kong International Airport
- 17 July 1998Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
More in Universe & space
- 16 February 1948Discovery of Miranda
- 5 September 1977Launch of Voyager 1
- 4 March 1979Discovery of Metis
- 5 March 1979Discovery of Thebe
- 8 July 1979Discovery of Adrastea
- 16 June 1989Discovery of Proteus
The era
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