L 168-9 (also known asGJ 4332 orTOI-134, officially namedDanfeng) is ared dwarf star located 82.1light-years (25.2parsecs) away from theSolar System in the constellation ofTucana. The star has about 61% the mass and 60% the radius of theSun. It has a temperature of 3,842 K (3,569 °C; 6,456 °F) and a rotation period of 29 days. L 168-9 is orbited by one knownexoplanet.
In August 2022, this planetary system was included among 20 systems to be named by the thirdNameExoWorlds project.[7] The approved names, proposed by a team fromChina, were announced in June 2023. L 168-9 is named Danfeng (丹凤) and its planet is named Qingluan (青鸾), after mythological birds of ancient China.[8]
The exoplanet L 168-9 b, officially named Qingluan, was discovered in 2020 usingTESS. At the discovery, thisterrestrialsuper-Earth was thought to have about 4.6 times the mass and 1.39 times the radius of Earth, and an estimatedequilibrium temperature of 965 K (692 °C; 1,277 °F). L 168-9 b is a target for observation and atmospheric characterization with theJames Webb Space Telescope,[3] and has been observed as one of its first targets.[9][10]
A newer study refined the planetary parameters of L 168-9 b. The newer research found a lower mass of4.07ME and a higher radius of 1.63 R🜨. These parameters imply a lower density of5.18 g/cm3, in contrast to the previous value of9.6 g/cm3. Given the lower density of the planet, it more likely has a pure rock composition, rather than a 50% iron core and 50% silicate mantle as previously proposed. The orbital parameters show little variation, while theequilibrium temperature was updated to998±39 K.[4]
Transmission spectra of combined near- and mid-infrared observations by theJames Webb Space Telescope showed no atmospheric features. However, further observations are required to rule out a thick (100bar)carbon dioxide atmosphere, which could also explain the data.[11]
