astronomy

NGTS-1b

NGTS-1b is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NGTS-1b rather than just read about it. In short: NGTS-1b is a confirmed hot Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet orbiting NGTS-1, a red dwarf star about half the mass and radius of the Sun, every 2.65 days. The NGTS-1 system is about 716 light-years from Earth in the Columba constellation.

Key takeaways

NGTS-1b belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NGTS-1b to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGTS-1b from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGTS-1b is a confirmed hot Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet orbiting NGTS-1, a red dwarf star about half the mass and radius of the Sun, every 2.65 days. The NGTS-1 system is about 716 light-years from Earth in the Columba constellation.

Discovery The exoplanet, NGTS-1b, was discovered by the Next-Generation Transit Survey. Daniel Bayliss, of the University of Warwick, and lead author of the study describing the discovery of NGTS-1b, stated, "The discovery of NGTS-1b was a complete surprise to us—such massive planets were not thought to exist around such small stars—importantly, our challenge now is to find out how common these types of planets are in the Galaxy, and with the new Next-Generation Transit Survey facility we are well-placed to do just that."

Characteristics

Mass, radius and temperature NGTS-1b is a hot Jupiter-sized gas giant exoplanet that has a mass of 0.812 MJ and a radius of 1.33 RJ, where MJ and RJ are the mass and radius of Jupiter.

Host star

The planet orbits an M0.5 dwarf star about half the mass (0.617 M☉) and radius (0.573 R☉) of the Sun.

Orbit NGTS-1b orbits about 4.5 million km (2.8 million mi) from the host star every 2.6473 Earth-days.

See also Kepler-45b List of extrasolar planets

References

External links The Next Generation Transit Survey Becomes Operational at Paranal, ESO archive, The Messenger 165 – September 2016

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGTS-1b

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGTS-1b claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NGTS-1b before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NGTS-1b ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NGTS-1b

In research: NGTS-1b appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NGTS-1b in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NGTS-1b is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Columba (constellation), Exoplanets discovered in 2017, Hot Jupiters, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGTS-1b outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NGTS-1b in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGTS-1b means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NGTS-1b out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGTS-1b in simple terms?

Why does NGTS-1b matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NGTS-1b?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NGTS-1b.