WASP-3b

WASP-3b is an extrasolar planet orbiting the star WASP-3 located approximately 800 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered via the transit method by SuperWASP, and follow up radial velocity observations confirmed that WASP-3b is a planet. The planet's mass and radius indicate that it is a gas giant with a similar bulk composition to Jupiter. WASP-3b has such an orbital distance around its star to classify it in the class of planets known as hot Jupiters and has an atmospheric temperature of approximately 1983 K.^[1]

WASP-3b

Size comparison of WASP-3b with Jupiter.
Discovery
Discovered by	Pollacco et al. (SuperWASP)
Discovery site	ORM
Discovery date	October 31, 2007
Detection method	Transit
Orbital characteristics
Semi-major axis	0.0317+0.0006 −0.001 AU
Eccentricity	0
Orbital period (sidereal)	1.8468372 ± 6e-07 d
Inclination	85.06+0.15 −0.16
Star	WASP-3
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	1.454 ± 0.084 RJ
Mass	2.06 ± 0.13 MJ
Mean density	1.04 g/cm3[citation needed]
Surface gravity	23.44 m/s2; 2.390 g0[1]
Temperature	1,983 K (1,710 °C)

WASP-3b undergoes no detectable gravitational tugging from other bodies in this system.^[2]

The study in 2012, utilizing a Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, have determined the planetary orbit is probably aligned with the equatorial plane of the star, misalignment equal to 3.3^+2.5
_−4.4°.^[3]

See also

• Wide Angle Search for Planets