PSR B1620−26 b
An artist's impression of PSR B1620-26 b. Its parent stars are visible in the background. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Backer et al. |
| Discovery site | United States |
| Discovery date | May 30, 1993 (confirmed July 10, 2003) |
| Pulsar timing | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 23 AU (3.4×109 km) | |
| 36,525 d ~100 y | |
| Inclination | 55 |
| Star | PSR B1620-26 AB |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 1.18 RJ (estimated) | |
| Mass | 2.5 (± 1) MJ |
| Temperature | 72 K (−201.2 °C; −330.1 °F) |
PSR B1620-26 b is an exoplanet located approximately 12,400 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius. It bears the unofficial nicknames "Methuselah" and "the Genesis planet" (named after the Biblical character Methuselah, who, according to the Bible, lived to be the oldest person) due to its extreme age. The planet is in a circumbinary orbit around the two stars of PSR B1620-26 (which are a pulsar (PSR B1620-26 A) and a white dwarf (WD B1620-26)) and is the first circumbinary planet ever confirmed. It is also the first planet found in a globular cluster. The planet is one of the oldest known extrasolar planets, believed to be about 12.7 billion years old.