Tau Bootis b
Ownership: UCP
System: Tau Bootis
Type: Gas giant
Orbit time: 3.3 days
Orbit distance: 0.046 AU (6.9 million kilometers)
Location: 51 LY from Sol system, Alpha Quadrant
The combination of the bright primary star and the very tight orbit makes the planet Tau Bootis b very hot; the temperature can be as much as 1 600 K. The planet is so hot that the gas in the atmosphere is driven away by the heat and solar winds, creating a faint comet-like tail.
An interesting property of Tau Bootis b is that it is tidally locking its parent star, which is many times massive than the planet. As mentioned above, the planet orbits the main star in about 3.3 days, but the main star also spins once around its' axis in 3.3 days. This fast orbital period is very fast for a star of Tau Bootis' class. The tidally locking is likely be contrained to the outer layers of the star.
Also known as the Millennium Planet.
