Astronomy:WASP-43

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Short description: Star in the Sextans constellation
WASP-43 / Gnomon
Observation data
Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS)
Constellation Sextans
Right ascension  10h 19m 38.00889s[1]
Declination −09° 48′ 22.6058″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 12.4[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type K7V
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)−3.42±0.55[1] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −41.992(18)[1] mas/yr
Dec.: −38.004(18)[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)11.4740 ± 0.0163[1] mas
Distance284.3 ± 0.4 ly
(87.2 ± 0.1 pc)
Details[3]
Mass0.723+0.028−0.031 M
Radius0.6747+0.0086−0.0097 R
Surface gravity (log g)4.639±0.01 cgs
Temperature4286+34−40 K
Metallicity [Fe/H]0.28+0.19−0.21 dex
Rotational velocity (v sin i)15.6 (± 0.4)[4] km/s
AgeGyr
Other designations
Database references
SIMBADdata

WASP-43 is a K-type star about 284 light-years (87 parsecs) away in the Sextans constellation. It is about half the size of the Sun, and has approximately half the mass. WASP-43 has one known planet in orbit, a Hot Jupiter called WASP-43b. At the time of publishing of WASP-43b's discovery on April 15, 2011, the planet was the most closely orbiting Hot Jupiter discovered. The small orbit of WASP-43b is thought to be caused by WASP-43's unusually low mass. WASP-43 was first observed between January and May 2009 by the SuperWASP project, and was found to be cooler and slightly richer in metals than the Sun. WASP-43 has also been found to be an active star that rotates at a high velocity.

Nomenclature

The designation WASP-43 indicates that this was the 43rd star found to have a planet by the Wide Angle Search for Planets.

In August 2022, this planetary system was included among 20 systems to be named by the third NameExoWorlds project.[5] The approved names, proposed by a team from Romania, were announced in June 2023. WASP-43 is named Gnomon and its planet is named Astrolábos, after the gnomon and the Greek word for the astrolabe.[6]

Observational history

WASP-43 was first observed by the WASP-South part of the planet-searching SuperWASP project between January and May 2009. It was determined from the collected data that WASP-43 could potentially host a planet that transited, or crossed in front of, its host star as seen from Earth.[4] Later observations by both the WASP-South and SuperWASP-North sections of SuperWASP between January and May 2010 yielded a total of 13,768 data points.[4]

Scientists interpreted that a 0.81-day orbit of a possible planet from the data, and followed up with observations using the CORALIE spectrograph on the Leonhard Euler Telescope at Chile's La Silla Observatory. CORALIE provided radial velocity measurements that indicated that WASP-43 was being transited by a planet that was 1.8 times Jupiter's mass, now dubbed WASP-43b. Another follow-up using the TRAPPIST telescope further defined the light curve of the body transiting WASP-43.[4]

WASP-43b's discovery was reported on April 15, 2011 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.[4]

Characteristics

WASP-43 is a K-type star with a mass that is 0.72 times that of the Sun, and a radius that is 0.67 times that of the Sun.[7] With an effective temperature of 4400 K, WASP-43 is cooler than the Sun. It also has slightly lower quantities of iron than the Sun, with a measured metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.05 (89% of that measured in the Sun).[2] However, in general, the star has a slightly larger quantity of metals than the Sun. A notable exception is lithium, which is not present in WASP-43's spectrum. However, the star's spectrum also indicates that WASP-43 is an active star.[4] WASP-43 has been found to rotate quickly, although the exact mechanism that causes such speed in this rotation is uncertain, it may be possible that this is caused by tidal interactions between WASP-43 and its planet.[4]

With an apparent magnitude of 12.4, WASP-43 cannot be seen with the unaided eye.[2] The star is located approximately 80 parsecs (260 light years) away from Earth.[4]

Planetary system

WASP-43b is a Hot Jupiter with a mass that is 1.78 times the mass of Jupiter and a radius that is 0.93 times Jupiter's radius. WASP-43b orbits its host star every 0.813475 days (19.5234 hours) at a distance of 0.0142 AU,[2] the closest orbit yet found at the time of WASP-43b's discovery.[4] WASP-43's unusually low mass accounts for WASP-43b's small orbit. Because planets with orbits around stars like WASP-43 are not usually observed, models either suggest that planets like WASP-43b are either uncommon or have short lifetimes caused by a decay in their orbits.[4] WASP-43b has a density of 2.20 g/cm3.

The WASP-43 planetary system[2]
Companion
(in order from star)
Mass Semimajor axis
(AU)
Orbital period
(days)
Eccentricity Inclination Radius
b / Astrolábos 2.054+0.055−0.060[3] MJ 0.0142 0.813474229±0.000000047[3] <0.03 82.5° 1.049+0.014−0.016[3] RJ

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Vallenari, A. et al. (2022). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940  Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jean Schneider (2011). "Notes for star WASP-43". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. http://www.exoplanet.eu/star.php?st=WASP-43. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Wang, Xian-Yu et al. (1 July 2021). "Transiting Exoplanet Monitoring Project (TEMP). VI. The Homogeneous Refinement of System Parameters for 39 Transiting Hot Jupiters with 127 New Light Curves". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 255 (1): 15. doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ac0835. Bibcode2021ApJS..255...15W. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Hellier, C.; Anderson, D.R. (2011). "WASP-43b: The closest-orbiting hot Jupiter". Astronomy and Astrophysics (European Southern Observatory) 535: L7. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117081. Bibcode2011A&A...535L...7H. 
  5. "List of ExoWorlds 2022". IAU. 8 August 2022. https://www.nameexoworlds.iau.org/2022exoworlds. 
  6. "2022 Approved Names". IAU. https://www.nameexoworlds.iau.org/2022approved-names. 
  7. Martin, Pierre-Yves (2023). "Planet WASP-43 b" (in en). Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. https://exoplanet.eu/catalog/wasp_43_b--841/.