HD 162020
K3V star with a red dwarf companion in Scorpius.
HD 162020 is a K-type main-sequence star in Scorpius, too faint for naked-eye visibility at magnitude 9.10. It hosts a companion initially thought to be a brown dwarf but later identified as a likely red dwarf star. The system is notable for its massive close-in companion and the star's high activity level, possibly enhanced by tidal synchronization.
Quick Facts
- Apparent visual magnitude
- 9.10
- Distance
- 102 ly
- Radial velocity
- −27 km/s
- Stellar classification
- K3V
- Mass
- 74% of the Sun
- Radius
- 73% of the Sun
- Luminosity
- 25.8% of the Sun
- Effective temperature
- 4,801 K
Facts from the source article.
Companion
HD 162020 b was announced on April 15, 2000 by the Geneva Extrasolar Planet Search Team. Initially considered a brown dwarf, its minimum mass was given, but the actual mass was unknown because the orbital inclination was not determined. The object orbits very close to the star at a distance with an eccentricity of 0.277, ranging from 0.054 to 0.096 AU, and has a semi-amplitude of 1,813 m/s. Computer modelling in 2017, while still thought to be a brown dwarf, indicated an Earth-mass exoplanet could occupy a dynamically stable orbit in the habitable zone. An astrometric measurement from Gaia DR3 in 2022 revealed its true mass, showing it is likely a red dwarf star. A full orbital solution was published in 2023.
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