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| WASP-12b | |
|---|---|
| Name | WASP-12b |
| Discoverer | SuperWASP |
| Discovered | 2008 |
| Semimajor | 0.0229 AU |
| Period | 1.09142 d |
| Mass | 1.47 M_J |
| Radius | 1.90 R_J |
| Eccentricity | ~0 |
| Star | WASP-12 |
WASP-12b is an ultra-hot Jupiter exoplanet noted for extreme irradiation, atmospheric escape, and a bloated radius. The planet's detection by the SuperWASP consortium placed it among key targets for follow-up by teams using facilities tied to European Southern Observatory, NASA, and institutions such as University of Cambridge research groups. Its properties motivated coordinated campaigns involving collaborators from Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, and observatories including Spitzer Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope teams.
The planet was discovered in 2008 by the SuperWASP survey led by groups at Queen's University Belfast, University of Leicester, and associated with survey instruments at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory and Sutherland Observatory. Early photometric transit detection prompted spectroscopic confirmation by teams at Observatoire de Haute-Provence, Keck Observatory, and groups affiliated with California Institute of Technology. Subsequent transmission and emission spectroscopy campaigns used instruments from European Space Agency missions and investigators at Space Telescope Science Institute and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. High-precision radial-velocity follow-up involved collaborators at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and observers using facilities at La Silla Observatory.
WASP-12b orbits its host in about 1.09 days at roughly 0.023 AU, a configuration studied by theoreticians at Princeton University and modelers at University of Oxford. The planet's inflated radius (~1.9 R_J) and mass (~1.5 M_J) were reported by teams from Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast and cross-checked by groups at University of St Andrews. Its orbit is essentially circular per analyses by researchers at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and dynamical studies from Cambridge University; tidal circularization and short-period alignment were modeled by groups at University of Arizona and Yale University. Measurements of secondary eclipses and phase curves were obtained by collaborations involving Spitzer Science Center and specialists at Columbia University.
Spectroscopic observations revealed an atmosphere probed by experts at Space Telescope Science Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, and teams from University of Exeter. Detections and non-detections of molecular signatures were debated among groups at University of California, Santa Cruz, University College London, and University of Geneva, with studies suggesting high temperatures exceeding 2500 K consistent with models advanced by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Claims of carbon-rich composition sparked analysis from groups at University of Toronto, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, and University of Cambridge who compared equilibrium chemistry against retrievals used by Harvard University investigators. Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and modeling by teams at Princeton University examined opacity sources and possible thermal inversions, while infrared emission studies by Spitzer Space Telescope teams assessed day–night heat redistribution.
WASP-12b exhibits mass-loss signatures studied by groups at University of Warwick, University of Exeter, and theorists at University of Chicago. Ultraviolet absorption features reported from Hubble Space Telescope observations implicated overflowing material and a potential exospheric stream, prompting hydrodynamic modeling by researchers at Uppsala University and University of Bern. The planet's proximity to its Roche limit and possible Roche lobe overflow have been analyzed in tidal-evolution frameworks developed at University of Cambridge and University of Zurich, with implications for angular momentum exchange explored by teams at Imperial College London and University of Heidelberg.
The star, cataloged and characterized by observers at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and spectral analysts at European Southern Observatory, is a late F-type main-sequence star showing mild metallicity variations noted by studies at University of Birmingham and University of Copenhagen. Stellar parameters were refined via spectroscopy by groups at Observatoire de Genève and photometric monitoring by collaborators at Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. Stellar activity, rotation, and age estimates were addressed in publications from University of Glasgow and University of California, Berkeley, while potential multiplicity and nearby stellar companions were investigated using adaptive optics at Keck Observatory and interferometry techniques developed at CHARA Array.
The placement of WASP-12b so close to its star motivated migration models from groups at University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Cambridge invoking disk-driven inward migration as described in frameworks from Princeton University and high-eccentricity tidal migration explored by researchers at California Institute of Technology. Alternative scenarios involving Kozai–Lidov oscillations were considered by dynamical modelers at University of Toronto and University of Michigan, while population-synthesis studies from teams at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Harvard University contrasted in situ formation versus migration pathways. Comparative analyses with other short-period giants were published by networks including NASA Exoplanet Science Institute and international consortia.
WASP-12b served as a benchmark for extreme-irradiation atmospheric physics studied by groups at Space Telescope Science Institute and modelers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its pronounced mass loss and inflated radius informed tidal-evolution theory advanced at University of Cambridge and observational strategies employed by Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope teams. The system continues to be a target for instruments from James Webb Space Telescope teams, whose spectroscopic capabilities are coordinated with researchers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and European partners at European Space Agency. Ongoing multiwavelength campaigns involve international collaborations across institutions such as University of Exeter, University of Oxford, and Max Planck Institute for Astronomy to constrain composition, dynamics, and long-term fate.