![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Epsilon_Indi_Ab_%2528MIRI_Image%2529.png/640px-Epsilon_Indi_Ab_%2528MIRI_Image%2529.png&w=640&q=50)
Epsilon Indi Ab
Gas giant orbiting Epsilon Indi A / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Epsilon Indi Ab?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Epsilon Indi Ab is a gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star Epsilon Indi A, about 11.9 light-years away in the constellation of Indus. The planet was confirmed to exist in 2018.[1] It orbits at around 28 AU (almost as far as Neptune from the Sun) with a period of around 174 years and a relatively high eccentricity of 0.4, and has a mass around 6 times that of Jupiter.[2] It was directly imaged using the James Webb Space Telescope in 2023[3] and the image was released in 2024.[4]
![]() Epsilon Indi Ab imaged by JWST MIRI. The star marks the position of its host star, whose light is blocked by a coronagraph. | |
Discovery[1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Fabo Feng, et al. |
Discovery date | 21 March 2018 (suspected since 2002) |
Radial velocity | |
Orbital characteristics[2][lower-alpha 1] | |
28.4+10 −7.2 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.40+0.15 −0.18 |
~173.6 years[lower-alpha 2] | |
Inclination | 103.7°±2.3° |
Star | Epsilon Indi A |
Physical characteristics[2] | |
Mass | 6.31+0.60 −0.56 MJ |
Temperature | 275 K (2 °C; 35 °F) |
As of 2024[update], Epsilon Indi Ab is the nearest exoplanet to be directly imaged, and with a temperature of about 275 K (2 °C; 35 °F), is also the coolest exoplanet to be directly imaged, and cooler than all but one imaged brown dwarf (the exception being the planetary-mass WISE 0855−0714).[4]
The Epsilon Indi system also contains a pair of brown dwarfs, Epsilon Indi Ba and Bb, at a wide separation from the primary star. As such, this system provides a benchmark case for the study of the formation of gas giants and brown dwarfs.[1]