astronomy

Wolf 1069 b

Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b rather than just read about it. In short: Wolf 1069 b is an Earth-sized planet orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf 1069. Being located in the habitable zone of its star, Wolf 1069 b is considered a potentially habitable planet, as well as one of the closest Earth-mass planets orbiting in the habitable zone.

Key takeaways

Wolf 1069 b belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wolf 1069 b to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wolf 1069 b from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wolf 1069 b is an Earth-sized planet orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf 1069. Being located in the habitable zone of its star, Wolf 1069 b is considered a potentially habitable planet, as well as one of the closest Earth-mass planets orbiting in the habitable zone. The minimum mass of the planet, as measured by the radial velocity method, is 1.26 M🜨, while its radius is estimated at 1.08 R🜨. The equilibrium temperature of Wolf 1069 b is −23 °C (250 K).

Characteristics Located about 9.6 parsecs (31 ly) from Earth, it is one of the closest known exoplanets. The minimum mass of Wolf 1069 b is measured at 1.26±0.21 M🜨— very similar to that of Earth. Its radius is estimated at 1.08 R🜨 according to mass-radius relationships. The planet takes about 16 days to fully orbit Wolf 1069, and is located at an average distance of 0.0672 astronomical units (10,050,000 km) from it, which makes it located in its star's habitable zone. Wolf 1069 b was discovered using radial velocity data from the CARMENES spectrograph at the Calar Alto Observatory, Spain. Its discovery was announced in January 2023, in the journal Astronomy & Astrophyics.

Habitability Wolf 1069 b is considered a potentially habitable planet, as it orbits in the conservative habitable zone of its star (located between 0.056 and 0.111 astronomical units), in addition to having a mass similar to that of Earth. It is very likely that Wolf 1069 b has a similar composition to Earth (32.5% of iron and 67.5% of silicate minerals), in addition to probably having liquid water on its surface. Located 31 light-years away, it is one of the closest Earth-mass planets orbiting in the habitable zone of host star. Its equilibrium temperature is calculated at -23°C (250 K), and it receives an incident flux from its star equivalent to 65% of what the Earth receives from the Sun. Despite being considered potentially habitable, the short distance from its star causes Wolf 1069 b to be tidally locked, meaning one side of the planet is always facing its star, while the other is always opposite it. Because it is tidally locked, Wolf 1069 b does not have a day/night cycle like Earth, meaning that one side of the planet is in an eternal day while the other side is in an eternal night. However, if the planet has suitable formation of clouds in the atmosphere, then the difference in temperature between two sides would likely be minimized, thus improving chance of habitability on the planet.

Host star

Wolf 1069 is a red dwarf that is located 31 light-years from Earth in the northern constellation Cygnus. The star has a slow rotation period, rotating on its own axis every 170 days, while the Sun takes 25 days to complete one rotation. Wolf 1069 is much smaller, cooler and less massive than the Sun, having a mass of 0.167 M☉, a surface temperature of 3,158 K (2,885 °C), and a radius of 0.18 R☉, which makes it one of the smallest stars known. It was discovered in 1920 by Max Wolf.

See also List of potentially habitable exoplanets Cygnus (constellation) List of exoplanets discovered in 2023, including Wolf 1069 b Red dwarf Habitability of red dwarf systems

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wolf 1069 b

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b

In research: Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b 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: Wolf 1069 b is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Exoplanets detected by radial velocity, Exoplanets discovered in 2023, Near-Earth-sized exoplanets in the habitable zone, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wolf 1069 b in simple terms?

Why does Wolf 1069 b 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 Wolf 1069 b?

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 Wolf 1069 b.