HD 68988 and Its Two Known Planets

HD 68988 is a Sun-like star of spectral type G0, located 198 light-years away. Its reported mass is 1.06 solar masses, its radius is 1.25 solar radii, and its temperature is 5870 K. The star’s reported radius estimate is larger than the Sun’s. Two planets are known to orbit this host.

HD 68988 b was discovered in 2001 by the radial velocity method, which measures the wobble a planet’s gravity induces in its star’s motion. Its minimum mass is 626 Earth masses, a lower bound on its true mass, and it completes an orbit in 6.28 days. HD 68988 c was discovered by the same method in 2021. Its minimum mass is 4770 Earth masses, and its orbital period is 16000 days. Among the listed planets, HD 68988 b has the shortest year by reported estimates, while HD 68988 c has the longest; HD 68988 b also has the smallest minimum mass, and HD 68988 c the largest. HD 68988 c’s minimum mass is roughly 15 times Jupiter’s mass.