HD 163607 and Its Two Known Planets

HD 163607 is a star located 221 light-years away, and two planets have been found in orbit around it. The star is a G5 IV type with a spectral class that places it among the Sun-like stars, though its exact evolutionary state differs from the Sun's. It has an age of 8.6 billion years, a mass of 1.09 solar masses, a radius of 1.63 solar radii, and a temperature of 5540 K. Its reported mass and radius estimates are both larger than the Sun's, while its reported temperature is cooler than the Sun's.

Both planets were discovered in 2012 using the radial velocity method, which measures the wobble a planet's gravity induces in its star's motion; repeated wobbles reveal the planet and its orbital period. HD 163607 b has a minimum mass of 249 Earth masses, a lower bound on its true mass, and an orbital period of 75.2 days. HD 163607 c has a minimum mass of 700 Earth masses and an orbital period of 1270 days. The minimum mass of each planet is larger than Earth's, and HD 163607 c's minimum mass is roughly 2.2 times Jupiter's mass.

Among the listed planets, HD 163607 b has the shortest year by reported estimates at 75.2 days, and HD 163607 c has the longest year by reported estimates at 1270 days. HD 163607 b also has the smallest minimum mass among the listed planets at 249 Earth masses, while HD 163607 c has the largest minimum mass at 700 Earth masses.