GJ 179 and Its Planet

GJ 179 is a star 40.3 light-years away with a spectral type of M3.5 V, making it a small, cool red dwarf. Its mass is 0.357 solar masses, its radius is 0.38 solar radii, and its temperature is 3370 K, all smaller or cooler than the Sun's corresponding values. One planet orbits this host.

That planet, GJ 179 b, was discovered in 2009 by the radial velocity method, which detects the wobble a planet's gravity induces in its star's motion and, through repeated wobbles, reveals the planet and its orbital period. GJ 179 b has a minimum mass of 261 Earth masses, a lower bound on its true mass and larger than Earth's, and an orbital period of 2290 days.