Discovery date 2010-01-06 Discovery site Keck Observatory | Discoverer(s) Howard et al. Discovery status Submitted | |
HD 156668 b is an extrasolar planet orbiting the star HD 156668 78.5 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. It has a minimum mass of 3.1 Earth masses. At the time of discovery it was the second least massive planet discovered by the radial velocity method, subject to the mass/inclination degeneracy that affects radial velocity measurements. The only radial velocity planet less massive than this planet is Gliese 581 e, which was discovered on April 21, 2009, and has a minimum mass of 1.94 Earth masses. In addition to this, it has the lowest semi-amplitude, or the speed of the stellar wobble caused by planet's gravity tugging on the star determined by radial velocity, at 2.2 m/s. This planet was discovered on January 6, 2010; it is the 8th planet discovered in 2010 after the first five planets detected by Kepler on January 4 and two planets around HD 9446 on January 5.