WASP-1b
Encyclopedia
WASP-1b is an extrasolar planet
orbiting the star
WASP-1
located over 1000 light-year
s away in the constellation
Andromeda
. In recognition of the regional support given to the project on La Palma
, the discoverers gave the planet the alternative designation Garafia-1.
with a similar bulk composition to Jupiter
. Unlike Jupiter, but similar to many other planets detected around other stars, WASP-1b is located very close to its star, and belongs to the class of planets known as hot Jupiter
s.
WASP-1 b was discovered via the transit method
by SuperWASP
, for which the star and planet are named. Follow-up radial velocity measurements confirmed the presence of an unseen companion, and allowed for the mass of WASP-1 b to be determined.
Extrasolar planet
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars...
orbiting the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
WASP-1
WASP-1
WASP-1 is a metal rich magnitude 12 star located about 1240 light-years away in the Andromeda constellation.-Planetary system:In 2006 the extrasolar planet WASP-1b was discovered by the SuperWASP project using the transit method....
located over 1000 light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Andromeda
Andromeda (constellation)
Andromeda is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda, the princess in the Greek legend of Perseus who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus...
. In recognition of the regional support given to the project on La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
, the discoverers gave the planet the alternative designation Garafia-1.
Orbit and mass
The planet's mass and radius indicate that it is a gas giantGas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
with a similar bulk composition to Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
. Unlike Jupiter, but similar to many other planets detected around other stars, WASP-1b is located very close to its star, and belongs to the class of planets known as hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are a class of extrasolar planet whose mass is close to or exceeds that of Jupiter...
s.
WASP-1 b was discovered via the transit method
Methods of detecting extrasolar planets
Any planet is an extremely faint light source compared to its parent star. In addition to the intrinsic difficulty of detecting such a faint light source, the light from the parent star causes a glare that washes it out...
by SuperWASP
SuperWASP
SuperWASP is an international academic organisation performing an ultra-wide angle search for transiting extrasolar planets with the aim of covering the entire sky down to ~15th magnitude.-Equipment:...
, for which the star and planet are named. Follow-up radial velocity measurements confirmed the presence of an unseen companion, and allowed for the mass of WASP-1 b to be determined.