| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Watson et al. |
| Discovery site | Next-Generation Transit Survey, Paranal Observatory,  Chile |
| Discovery date | 2019 |
| Transit | |
| Designations | |
| TOI-1926 b | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| 0.019±0.005 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0 |
| 1.3373508±0.000008 days | |
| Inclination | 82.5°±5.8° |
| Star | NGTS-4 |
| Physical characteristics[1] | |
| 0.2837±0.0232 RJ | |
| Mass | 0.0648±0.009 MJ |
NGTS-4b is a Neptune-like planet orbiting the early K-type star NGTS-4, nicknamed the "forbidden planet" for its existence within the Neptunian desert, a location where very few Neptunian planets are found orbiting their stars.[2][3]
Characteristics
[edit]NGTS-4b has a mass of 20 M🜨, and a radius 20% smaller than Neptune and has retained an atmosphere while orbiting every 1.3 days within the Neptunian desert of its star. The atmosphere may have survived due to the planet's unusually high core mass, or "it might have migrated to its current close-in orbit after this epoch of maximum stellar activity".[4][clarification needed]
Host star
[edit]NGTS-4b orbits NGTS-4, a K-dwarf star located 922 light-years from Earth.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Martin, Pierre-Yves (2025). "Planet NGTS-4 b". exoplanet.eu. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
- ^ "'Forbidden' planet challenging astronomers' understanding of solar systems". ABC News. 2019-05-29. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
- ^ Cassella, Carly (2019-05-29). "'Forbidden Planet' Discovered Against All Odds in Hellish Neptunian Desert". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
- ^ Watson, Christopher A.; Walker, Simon R.; Udry, Stéphane; Thompson, Samantha J.; Sohy, Sandrine; Rauer, Heike; et al. (2019-07-11). "NGTS-4b: A sub-Neptune transiting in the desert". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 486 (4): 5094–5103. arXiv:1809.00678. Bibcode:2019MNRAS.486.5094W. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz1084. ISSN 0035-8711.
- ^ "The 'Forbidden' planet has been found in the 'Neptunian Desert'". Phys.org. University of Warwick. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
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