Type of Star:

Spectral Class:

Distance:

Luminosity:

Mass:

Surface Temperature:

Remarkable Property:

Yellow Dwarf

G8V

41 Lightyears

0,61 L

0,95 Solar Masses

5250 K

Disk of Dust

Mass:

Orbital Radius:

Orbital Period:

Temperature:

Eccentricity:

0,85 Jupiter Masses

0,11 AU

14,66 Days

800°C

0,04

Sun

55 Cancri b is a massive planet, orbiting very close to its parent star. In this respect it is similar to 51 Pegasi b, though these two worlds are different in some important aspects. Both planets are sufficiently massive to retain an atmosphere, but for 51 Pegasi b, it will be blown into space by the nearby star. 55 Cancri b has more than twice the orbital radius than 51 Pegasi b and a higher mass, so it would retain most of its gases. If it actually formed at its current position, an issue highly disputed among scientists, it would have a large, rocky core. With its high mass and dense atmosphere, 55 Cancri b may look like a hybrid between Venus and Jupiter.

There are strong sources of heat on 55 Cancri b. One of them is the intense radiation from the nearby star, but another source is tidal friction caused by the star's gravity. The planet's surface may even be completely molten. Enormous volcanic eruptions would fill the atmosphere with carbondioxide and sulphur compounds, producing a thick yellowish cloud cover. Any daring explorer would be crushed by the immense pressure at ground level, and vaporized by the heat - and he could not even see the disk of dust recently discovered around 55 Cancri.

No known form of life could exist on 55 Cancri b. A volcanically hyperactive world, where pure sulphuric acid rains on oceans of molten rock, and titanic strikes of lightning from earth-sized thunderclouds give an eerie illumination, 55 Cancri b would be among the best places to call Hell.

Sunrise over 55 Cancri b