| GJ 1132 b | |
| Discoverer: | MEarth-South Array Team |
| Discovered: | May 10, 2015 (announced) November 12, 2015 (confirmed)[1] |
| Apsis: | astron |
| Eccentricity: | <0.22 |
GJ 1132 b (also known as Gliese 1132 b) is an exoplanet orbiting GJ 1132, a red dwarf star 41lk=onNaNlk=on from Earth, in the constellation Vela. The planet is considered uninhabitable but cool enough to possess an atmosphere.[2] GJ 1132 b was discovered by the MEarth-South array in Chile.[3]
It has been called "one of the most important planets ever discovered beyond the Solar System": Due to its relative proximity to Earth, telescopes should be able to determine the composition of its atmosphere, the speed of its winds and the color of its sunsets.[4] [5] [6] This is due in part to the small diameter of its parent star (20% that of the Sun), which increases the effect on the star's light of its transits. The planet's diameter is approximately 20% larger than that of the Earth and its mass is estimated at 1.6 times that of Earth,[2] implying that it has an Earth-like rocky composition. GJ 1132 b orbits its star every 1.6 days at a distance of 1.4 million miles (2.24 million kilometres).
The planet receives 19 times more stellar radiation than Earth. The equilibrium temperature is estimated at 529K for an Earth-like albedo, or 409K for a Venus-like albedo. The planet is likely to be hotter than Venus, as higher temperatures likely prevail at the surface if the planet has an atmosphere.[7]
In April 2017, a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere was claimed to have been detected around GJ 1132 b.[8] However, subsequent, more precise work ruled out the claim. Instead, in 2021 detection of a hazy hydrogen atmosphere without helium but with the admixture methane and hydrogen cyanide (implying substantial underlying free nitrogen in the mix, at around 8.9% of the atmosphere) was claimed. However, two subsequent studies found no evidence for molecular absorption in the HST WFC3 Spectrum of GJ 1132 b. Instead, the spectrum was found to be flat, which is more consistent with our current understanding of photoevaporation.