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A Planet At 5 Au Around 55 Cancri, Geoffrey W. Marcy, R. Paul Butler, Debra A. Fischer, Greg Laughlin, Steve S. Vogt, Gregory W. Henry, Dimitri Pourbaix

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We report precise Doppler-shift measurements of 55 Cancri (G8 V) obtained from 1989 to 2002 at Lick Observatory. The velocities reveal evidence for an outer planetary companion to 55 Cancri orbiting at 5.5 AU. The velocities also confirm a second, inner planet at 0.11 AU. The outer planet is the first extrasolar planet found that orbits near or beyond the orbit of Jupiter. It was drawn from a sample of ~50 stars observed with sufficient duration and quality to detect a giant planet at 5 AU, implying that such planets are not rare. The properties of this Jupiter analog may …