Aldebaran System

Aldebaran Planetary System

Alternate Designations:  alpha Taurus HD 29139
 Distance from Sun:   73.4 Light Years
Right Ascension:  04 35 55.24
Declination:  +16 30 33.5
Spectral Type:  K5III
Apparent Magnitude:  0.86
B-V Color:  1.54

Aldebaran b
Jovian Planet

Star System:   Aldebaran
Discovery Status:   Uncertain
Mass:   11 Jupiters
Average Distance:   1.35 AUs
Period:   653.8 Days
Orbital Eccentricity:   0.182
Detection Method:   Doppler Spectroscopy
Discovered By:   Hatzes et al
Year Discovered:   1997

Children of Aldebaran

The red giant Aldebaran dominates the skies near the star's massive companion. As the dying star sheds dust and gas, some of this material is trapped by the companion's gravity, settling into a tenuous dark ring. Below us and in the foreground, one of the companion's moons, it's rocky surface melted by stellar outbursts, broils in the scorching heat of the giant star. If Aldebaran replaced the sun in our own solar system, its surface would extend halfway to the orbit of Mercury.