OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb

OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb (known sometimes as Hoth by NASA) is a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting OGLE-2005-BLG-390L, a star from Earth near the center of the Milky Way, making it one of the most distant planets known. On January 25, 2006, Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork/Robotic Telescope Network (PLANET/Robonet), Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE), and Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) made a joint announcement of the discovery. The planet does not appear to meet conditions presumed necessary to support life. The planet is estimated to be about five times Earth's mass (5.5 ). Some astronomers have speculated that it may have a rocky core like Earth, with a thin atmosphere. Its distance from the star, and the star's relatively low temperature, means that the planet's likely surface temperature is around , making it one of the coldest known. If it is a rocky world, this temperature would make it likely that the surface would be made of frozen volatiles, substances which would be liquids or gases on Earth: water, ammonia, methane and nitrogen would all be frozen solid. If it is not a rocky planet, it would more closely resemble an icy gas planet like Uranus, although much smaller. The planet is notable for its large distance from its star for such a relatively small exoplanet - these planets are challenging to find with other detection methods. Prior to this, "small" exoplanets such as Gliese 876 d, which has an orbital period of less than 2 Earth-days, were detected very close to their stars. OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb shows a combination of size and orbit that would not make it out of place in the Solar System. "The team has discovered the most Earthlike planet yet", said Michael Turner, assistant director for the mathematical and physical sciences directorate at the National Science Foundation, which supported the work. At the time of discovery, with 5.5 Earth masses, the planet was less massive than the previous candidate for lowest-mass exoplanet around a main-sequence star, the 7.5 Earth mass Gliese 876 d.