47 Ursae Majoris b
extrasolar planet
47 Ursae Majoris b (abbreviated 47 UMa b), formally named Taphao Thong , is a gas planet and an extrasolar planet approximately 46 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Ursa Major. The planet was discovered located in a long-period orbit around the star 47 Ursae Majoris in January 1996 and as of 2011 it is the innermost of three known planets in its planetary system. It has a mass at least 2.53 times that of Jupiter.
Proper Name
In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars. The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names. In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning name was Taphao Thong (Thai: ตะเภาทอง [tā.pʰāw.tʰɔ̄ːŋ]) for this planet. The winning name was submitted by the Thai Astronomical Society of Thailand. Taphaothong was one of two sisters associated with a Thai folk tale.
Discovery
Taphao Thong was discovered by detecting the changes in its star's radial velocity as the planet's gravity pulls the star around. This was achieved by observing the Doppler shift of the spectrum of Chalawan.
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