Question 1

True or false: 51 Pegasi b's discovery earned its astronomers a Nobel Prize in Physics.

Accepted Answer

True. Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics for the 1995 discovery of 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet found orbiting a sun-like star.

Question 2

True or false: 51 Pegasi b is a hot Jupiter that orbits its star in just over 4 Earth days.

Accepted Answer

True. Its orbital period is about 4.23 days, incredibly short due to its close proximity to the star.

Question 3

True or false: 51 Pegasi b is located in the constellation Pegasus, giving it its name.

Accepted Answer

True. 51 Pegasi b orbits the star 51 Pegasi in the Pegasus constellation. The planet's name comes from the star's designation, which uses the constellation's genitive form (Pegasi).

Question 4

True or false: 51 Pegasi b has a mass about half that of Jupiter.

Accepted Answer

True. Its minimum mass is roughly 0.46 Jupiter masses, making it a relatively lightweight hot Jupiter.

Question 5

True or false: 51 Pegasi b was the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a Sun-like star.

Accepted Answer

True. Discovered in 1995, it was the first confirmed exoplanet around a main-sequence star, revolutionizing astronomy.

Question 6

True or false: 51 Pegasi b was discovered using the transit method.

Accepted Answer

False. It was found via the radial velocity method, which detects stellar wobble. The transit method came later for other planets.

Question 7

True or false: 51 Pegasi b was initially thought to be a planet made mostly of diamond.

Accepted Answer

False. No; it's a gas giant, primarily hydrogen and helium. Diamond planets are hypothetical and much rarer.

Question 8

True or false: 51 Pegasi b was the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a main-sequence star.

Accepted Answer

True. Discovered in 1995 by Mayor and Queloz, 51 Pegasi b was the first confirmed exoplanet around a Sun-like star, a hot Jupiter orbiting every 4.2 days.

51 Pegasi b Trivia Questions