EXOPLANETS - Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia
The stellar data (positions, distances, V and other magnitudes, mass, metallicities etc) are taken from Simbad or from professional papers on exoplanets.
Ongoing large extrasolar planets ('exoplanets') projects include:
Anglo-Australian Planet Search <http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~cgt/planet/AAPS_Home.html> California & Carnegie Planet Search <http://exoplanets.org/> Geneva Extrasolar Planet Search Programmes <http://obswww.unige.ch/~udry/planet/planet.html> Transatlantic Exoplanet Survey <http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~ftod/tres/tres.html> University of Texas - Dept. of Astronomy <http://www.as.utexas.edu/astronomy/research/ss.html>
Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia Schneider, J. http://exoplanet.eu/ Defining and Cataloguing Exoplanets: the exoplanet.eu Database Schneider, J., Dedieu, C., Le Sidaner, P., Savalle, R., Zolotukhin, I. <Astr. Ap. 532, A79 (2011)> =2011A&A...532A..79S
An additional difficulty comes from the uncertainty in the mass value (for instance an object with a mass 19 +/- 3 M_Jup could have a true mass value < 13 M_Jup with a 2 sigma statistical deviation (= 12% probability). The Encyclopedia thus finally includes planets with masses < 20 M_Jup up to a 2-sigma statistical deviation.
The confidence criteria for planets to be included are:
R = Planet detections published (or accepted for publication) in refereed papers. S = Planet detections published in papers submitted to professional journals. C = Planet detections announced by profesionnal astronomers in professional conferences. W = Planet detections announced on a professional website.
The designation of the planet. For single planetary companions to a host star, the name is generally NNN b where NNN is the parent star name. For multi-planet systems, the planet names are NNN x, where x = b, c, d, etc. and refers to the chronological order of discovery of the planet. Exceptions are possible, like TrES-1 or planets detected by microlensing. For "free floating" planets, the name is the name given by the discoverers.
The Right Ascension of the planet-hosting star in the specified equinox. This was given in J2000 coordinates to a precision of 1 second of time in the original table.
The Declination of the planet-hosting star in the specified equinox. This was given in J2000 coordinates to a precision of 1 arcsecond in the original table.
The Galactic Longitude of the planet-hosting star.
The Galactic Latitude of the planet-hosting star.
The mass (or minimum mass) of the extrasolar planet, in Jupiter masses. For planets detected by radial velocity and timing, only the product M.sini, where i is the orbit inclination, is known in general. For transiting planets, i, hence M, is known from the fitting of the transit light curve. For planets detected by astrometry, i is directly inferred from the parent star orbit. For planets detected by radial velocity in multiplanet systems, it can sometimes be inferred from the dynamical analysis of the planet-planet interaction, and in a few years it will be inferred from direct imaging of some planets. Thus, when the inclination is known, rather than the value of M.sini i the true mass value M is given.
The radius of the extrasolar planet, in Jupiter radii.
The orbital period of the extrasolar planet, in days.
The semi-major axis a of the orbit of the extrasolar planet, in Astronomical Units (AU). When the semi-major axis is not given in a detection paper, it is derived from the published orbital period P and from the mass Mstar of the parent star through the Kepler law, P = 2.pi.sqrt(a3/G.Mstar).
The eccentricity e of the orbit of the extrasolar planet.
The angular separation between the extrasolar planet and the star about which it orbits, based on the orbital semi-major-axis and the distance to the system, in arcseconds.
The inclination of the orbit of the extrasolar planet to the plane of the sky, in degrees.
The status of the relevant publication for the planet:
R = refereed paper (accepted or published), S = submitted paper, C = announced in a professional conference, W = announced on a professional website.
The year in which the planet was discovered. The purpose is not to establish a priority among discoverers. This entry indicates the year of announcement in a professional meeting or the date of submission of a discovery paper. The date of publication is sometimes the year after the date of submission or announcement in a professional conference. The notion of the "year of discovery" is problematic for a few objects such as gamma Cep b and beta Gem b. For these two objects, the authors chose the date of final confirmation. HD 114762 b (~ 12 MJup) was discovered as a confirmed companion in 1989 (Latham et al. 1989, Nature, 339, 38), but it was not baptized as a planet at that time.
The date of the last update to this particular cataloge entry.
Omega, the longitude of periastron, in degrees, for the case af an elliptical orbit.
The method of detection for the planet, eg., radial velocity, imaging, transit, pulsar, astrometry, microlensing.
Molecules detected in the atmosphere of the planet, if any.
The name of the star which the extrasolar planet orbits.
The distance to the planet-hosting star, in parsecs (pc).
The metallicity [Fe/H] of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits, relative to the solar metallicity on the usual logarithmic scale, i.e., 0.0 implies solar metallicity, 0.3 twice solar, etc.
The mass of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits, in Solar masses.
The age of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits, in gigayears.
The radius of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits, in Solar radii.
The effective temperature, in K, of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits.
The spectral type of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits.
The V magnitude of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits.
The I magnitude of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits.
The H magnitude of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits.
The J magnitude of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits.
The K magnitude of the star about which the extrasolar planet orbits.