HD 4208

Lore & Background

HD 4208 is a yellow-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 7.78, making it too dim for naked-eye visibility but an easy target with binoculars or a small telescope. It lies 111.2 light-years from the Sun and is drifting further away at a radial velocity of +57 km/s. The star has a stellar classification indicating underabundances of iron and carbyne in its spectrum. It is roughly 6.6 billion years old, spins with a projected rotational velocity of 4.4 km/s, and has 86% of the Sun's mass and radius, radiating 71% of the Sun's luminosity from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 5,717 K.

In 2001, a planet was discovered orbiting HD 4208 using the radial velocity method. This planet orbits at a distance from the host star with a period of 833 days and a low eccentricity of 0.042. Its position near the star's habitable zone means it will exert a strong gravitational perturbation effect on any potential Earth-mass planet that may orbit within that region.

The star was named Cocibolca by Nicaragua during the NameExoWorlds campaign held for the 100th anniversary of the IAU. Cocibolca is the Nahuatl name for Lake Nicaragua.

Reader's Guide

HD 4208, designated Cocibolca, holds significance as a G-type main-sequence star with a confirmed exoplanet discovered in 2001. The planet's orbital parameters—a period of 833 days and low eccentricity of 0.042—place it near the star's habitable zone, where its gravitational influence would strongly perturb any Earth-mass planet that might exist there. This makes the system a subject of interest for studies of planetary dynamics and habitability. The star's physical properties, including its age of 6.6 billion years, mass and radius at 86% of the Sun's, and effective temperature of 5,717 K, characterize it as a slightly evolved solar analog. Its underabundances of iron and carbyne in the spectrum provide clues to its chemical composition and formation history. The star's name, Cocibolca, reflects a cultural connection to Nicaragua, chosen during the IAU's NameExoWorlds campaign on its 100th anniversary. The star is too faint for naked-eye observation but is readily accessible with binoculars or a small telescope, located in the southern constellation Sculptor. Its radial velocity of +57 km/s indicates it is moving away from the Solar System.