Creation Moment 10/3/2020 - WASP-189b: More Planetary Diversity

 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...

Hebrews 11:3

 

"WASP-189b is a gas giant transiting the A-type star WASP-189.

Also known as HD 133112, the host star is larger and more than

2,000 degrees Celsius hotter than the Sun, and so appears to glow blue.

WASP-189b sits around 20 times closer to its star than Earth does to the Sun, and completes a full orbit in just 2.7 days.

“The WASP-189 planetary system is located 322 light-years away in the constellation of Libra,” said Dr. Monika Lendl, an astronomer at the University of Geneva.

WASP-189b is especially interesting because it is a gas giant that orbits very close to its host star.

It takes less than 3 days for it to circle its star, and it is 20 times closer to it than Earth is to the Sun.

Only a handful of planets are known to exist around stars this hot, and this system is by far the brightest.

WASP-189b is also the brightest hot Jupiter that we can observe as it passes in front of or behind its star, making the whole system really intriguing.”

 “We also saw that the star itself is interesting — it’s not perfectly round, but larger and cooler at its equator than at the poles, making the poles of the star appear brighter,” Dr. Lendl said.

“It’s spinning around so fast that it’s being pulled outwards at its equator! Adding to this asymmetry is the fact that WASP-189b’s orbit is inclined; it doesn’t travel around the equator, but passes close to the star’s poles.” 

SciNews