Discovery date 19 February 2008 Discovery status Published | Discoverer(s) Sato et al. | |
 | ||
Discovery site Okayama Planet
Search Program
Japan | ||
18 Delphini b (abbreviated 18 Del b), also named Arion, is an extrasolar planet approximately 238 light-years away in the constellation of Delphinus.
The 993-day period planet orbits the yellow giant star 18 Delphini. A very massive and dense planet with a minimum mass of 10.3 MJ it was discovered on February 19, 2008 by Sato.
In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars. The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names. In December 2015, the IAU announced the name Arion for this planet. The winning name was submitted by the Tokushima Prefectural Jonan High School Science Club of Japan. Arion was a genius of poetry and music in ancient Greece. According to legend, his life was saved at sea by dolphins after attracting their attention by the playing of his kithara ('Delphinus' is Latin for 'dolphin').