[Fe/H] 0.30 ± 0.01 Discoverer(s) Butler, Marcy Discovery status Published | Discovery date December 12, 2000 Discovery site California, USA | |
Mu Arae b, often designated HD 160691 b, later named Quijote, is an extrasolar planet orbiting the star Mu Arae of the constellation Ara.
The planet is at least one and a half times the mass of Jupiter, and its orbital period is 643.25 days. The discovery of this planet was announced on December 12, 2002, and was originally thought to be on a highly eccentric orbit. The latest models of the its planetary system, which has four known planets, give a lower eccentricity orbit. Although the planet itself is likely to be a gas giant with no solid surface, the orbital distance of 1.497 astronomical units from its star puts it within the habitable zone of its planetary system. As a result, large satellites, if they exist, of the planet, could potentially support life. However, it may not receive enough ultraviolet light for abiogenesis to proceed. Furthermore, it is not clear that Earth-size moons can actually be formed in the environment around a gas giant planet.
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 winning name was Quijote for this planet. The winning name was submitted by the Planetario de Pamplona, Spain. Quijote was the lead character of the novel El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha.