Weird Exoplanets
This is the text version of the interactive 3D documentary. 한국어
All exoplanets › Part 4: Strange shapes
WASP-12b
Being eaten by its star and stretched like an egg
View in 3D · narrated- Distance
- about 1,400 light-years (about 13,000 trillion km, 1,400 years at light speed)
- Type
- Ultra-hot Jupiter (gas planet)
- Size
- About 1.9 times Jupiter’s width
- Star
- WASP-12
- Year (orbit)
- About 1.1 days
- Temperature
- About 2,500 °C
- Found
- 2008
About 1,400 light-years, toward Auriga
WASP-12b is about 1,400 light-years away, toward the constellation Auriga. It is the farthest planet on this map. It skims so close to its star that it goes around once every 26 hours or so.
View this scene in 3D →A planet being eaten by its star
This planet is so close to its star that the star’s pull is thought to stretch it into a long shape pointing at the star. From the stretched tip, the planet’s air is pulled off toward the star. The planet’s orbit is also slowly shrinking toward the star.
Why?Since it was found in 2008, the time between its passes in front of the star has been getting about 0.03 seconds shorter every year. That means its path is shrinking.
Learn moreAt that rate, researchers calculated, the star will swallow the planet within a few million years. The planet also reflects almost no light, so it is very dark.
View this scene in 3D →Sources: Wikipedia: WASP-12b
Distances and facts come from published research and NASA, as noted under each planet. The 3D close-ups are artist’s views based on that research, not photographs. Distances to faraway stars can carry some uncertainty.