Mu Arae e

Mu Arae e, also known as HD 160691 e, later named Sancho /ˈsæntʃoʊ/,^[2] is one of the four extrasolar planets orbiting the star Mu Arae of the constellation Ara.

Mu Arae e / Sancho

Mu Arae e rendered by Celestia
Discovery
Discovered by	Butler, Marcy
Discovery site	California, USA
Discovery date	June 13, 2002
Detection method	Radial velocity
Orbital characteristics
Apastron	5.750 AU (860,200,000 km)
Periastron	4.719 AU (706,000,000 km)
Semi-major axis	5.235 AU (783,100,000 km)[1]
Eccentricity	0.0985 ± 0.0627[1]
Orbital period (sidereal)	4205.8 ± 758.9[1] d 11.51 y
Time of periastron	2,450,541 ± 96[1]
Argument of periastron	57.6 ± 43.7[1]
Semi-amplitude	18.1 ± 1.1[1]
Star	Mu Arae

Naming

In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.^[3] The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names.^[4] In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning name was Sancho for this planet.^[5] The winning name was submitted by the Planetario de Pamplona, Spain. Sancho was the squire of the lead character of the novel Don Quixote.^[6]

Orbit

The planet's discovery was announced on June 13, 2002. Mu Arae e is a gas giant at least 1.8 times as massive as Jupiter. The planet orbits at Jupiter-like distance at 5.235 AU.