About this world
HD 72659 b is a gas giant orbiting HD 72659, a yellow, Sun-like star (type G2V) 169 light-years from Earth. It is about 1.2 times the size of Jupiter (its size estimated from its mass) and holds 3 Jupiter masses. It completes an orbit every 9.72 years at 4.6 AU from its star, on a strongly elongated orbit (e = 0.24).
Its equilibrium temperature is about 155 K (−118 °C): too cold for liquid water on its surface. At its size it almost certainly keeps a deep envelope of hydrogen and helium.
It was discovered in 2002 by radial velocity with W. M. Keck Observatory. The star wobbles toward and away from us, Doppler-shifting its spectrum. HD 72659 has 2 known planets; the others are HD 72659 c.