WASP-15b

Coordinates: Sky map 13h 55m 43s, −32° 09′ 35″
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WASP-15b / Asye
SAAO[1]
Discovery dateApril 29, 2009 (Publication date)[1]
Transit[1]
Orbital characteristics
0.0499 ± 0.0018 AU (7,460,000 ± 270,000 km)[2]
Eccentricity0[2]
3.7520656 ± 2.8e-06[2] d
Inclination85.5 ± 0.5[2]
StarWASP-15
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
1.428 ± 0.077[2] RJ
Mass0.542 ± 0.05[2] MJ
Mean density
0.247 ± 0.035 g/cm3 (0.0089 ± 0.0013 lb/cu in)[1]
Temperature1652 ± 28[1]

WASP-15b, formally named Asye,

transit their host stars. The planet orbits its host star at a distance of 0.05 AU every four days. The mass of this planet is about one half that of Jupiter, but its radius is nearly 50% larger than Jupiter's, making the density of this planet only one quarter that of water; it is thought that some other form of heating must explain its extremely low density.[1]
WASP-15b's discovery was published on April 29, 2009.

Discovery

WASP-15 was first observed by the WASP-South branch of the

SuperWASP project, which operates from the South African Astronomical Observatory, between May 4, 2006, and July 17, 2006. It was later observed by WASP-South from January 31, 2007, to July 17, 2007, and from January 31, 2008, to May 29, 2008.[1] Further analysis taken from 24,943 collected data points revealed eleven full or partial transits.[1]

Follow-up observations were conducted by a European and American science team at the 1.2 m

eclipsing binary star system.[1]

CORALIE and the

High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) revealed the spectrum of WASP-15, which was used to derive the star's characteristics.[1] The science team studying WASP-15 found that, after running best-fit models, WASP-15's radial velocity and transit shifts were most likely due to the existence of a planet.[1]

WASP-15's planet, WASP-15b, had one of the lowest densities known amongst extrasolar planets when it was discovered. Its discovery paper was published by the

Astronomical Journal.[1]

Host star

Main article: WASP-15

WASP-15 is an

K, and is thus hotter than the Sun, although at 3.9 billion years, it is also younger. WASP-15 has a metallicity of [Fe/H] of -0.17, which means that it has 68% of the iron found in the Sun.[2]

Characteristics

WASP-15b has a

AU (7,500,000 km), WASP-15b is greatly inflated, with a density of 0.247 g/cm3. Another factor, such as an internal heat source, is suspected to add to this extremely high radius and extremely low density.[1] WASP-15b orbits its host star every 3.7520656 days. It also has an orbital inclination of 85.5º, making it almost edge-on as seen from the Earth's perspective.[2]

The study in 2012, utilizing a Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, have determined the planetary orbit is strongly misaligned with the equatorial plane of the star, misalignment equal to -139.6+4.3
−5.2°. This spin-orbit angle is making orbit of WASP-15b retrograde.[4]

Naming

In 2019 the IAU announced as part of NameExoWorlds that WASP-15 and its planet WASP-15b would be given official names chosen by school children from The Ivory Coast.[3][5]

See also

  • SuperWASP

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 119291616
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Jean Schneider (2010). "Notes for star WASP-15". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b "NameExoWorlds". 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  4. S2CID 17174530
  5. ^ "Naming". 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.

External links

Media related to WASP-15b at Wikimedia Commons


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