HD 100546

HD 100546 or KR Muscae is a star. It is a pre-main-sequence star. It is 361.4 light-years away from the Earth. In the night sky, it is in the constellation of Musca. It has one planet. The planet is 6.5 AU away from HD 100546. The star has disks of dust and rocks around it. One of these disks is 0.2 to 4 AU from the star and another is 13 AU out to a few hundred AU. Scientists think there might be a protoplanet between these two circumstellar disks, around 47 AU from the star.

HD 100546's disk in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope(left). A protoplanet forming between the disks (right).

Scientists believe this star is 10 million years old.

Planetary system

The planetary system contains at least 3 members: "HD 100546 b" and a protoplanet forming in denser regions of the circumstellar disks (c).

HD 100546 b

HD 100546 b

"HD 100546 b" or "KR Muscae b" is a large gas giant exoplanet or a sub-brown dwarf star orbiting HD 100546 6.5 AU away from its host star. HD 100546 b might be the largest exoplanet discovered because it is exactly 7.0560720927 times the diameter of Jupiter which is 986,580 km.

Protoplanet

The Hubble Space Telescope observed a complex spiral pattern in the circumstellar disks. The young protoplanet designated "HD 100546" c or "KR Muscae C", is a possible exoplanet forming 47 AU away from the host star. It has the temperature of 227 K (or -46.15°C).