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Artist’s Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b’s Orbit

Artist's Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b's Orbit
This graphic shows how the exoplanet HD 106906 b may have evolved over time, arriving at its current, widely separated, eccentric and highly misaligned orbit. (1) The planet formed much closer to its stars, inside a circumstellar disk of gas and dust. Drag from the disk caused the planet's orbit to decay, forcing it to spiral inward toward its stellar pair. (2) The gravitational effects from the host stars then kicked the planet out onto an unstable orbit that almost threw it out of the system and into the void of interstellar space. (3) A passing star from outside the system stabilized HD 106906 b's orbit and prevented the planet from leaving its home system.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    12:17:53.114
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -55:58:32.11
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Crux
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    336 light-years
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    HD 106906 b's Orbit
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Artist's illustration of the evolution of HD 106906 b's orbit
  • Release Date
    December 10, 2020
  • Science Release
    Hubble Pins Down Weird Exoplanet with Far-Flung Orbit
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and L. Hustak (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res, 3631 × 1300
    png (3.01 MB)
  • Medium, 2000 × 716
    png (1.38 MB)
  • Full Res, 3631 × 1300
    tif (13.53 MB)

Related Images & Videos

Exoplanet HD 106906b with compass and scale

HD 106906 Compass Image

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows one possible orbit (dashed ellipse) of the 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet HD 106906 b. This remote world is widely separated from its host stars, whose brilliant light is masked here to allow the planet to be seen. The planet resides outside...

Artist's Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b

Artist's Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b

The 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD 106906 b, shown in this artist's illustration, occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away. It may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our solar system...

Exoplanet HD 106906

HD 106906

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the environment around double star HD 106906. The brilliant light from these stars is masked here to allow fainter features in the system to be seen. The stars' circumstellar disk is asymmetric and distorted, perhaps due to the...

Simulation of HD 106906 b's Orbit

Simulation of HD 106906 b's Orbit

This video shows the possible orbit of exoplanet HD 106906 b. The light from the twin stars has been masked to block their bright glare, allowing the Hubble Space Telescope to see the circumstellar disk and exoplanet. The planet resides outside its system's circumstellar debris...

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 11, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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