WASP-101 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-101 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-101, located approximately 656.3 light-years (201.22 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2014 by SuperWASP using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.2584% across the stellar disk), this world measures 16.029 Earth radii (1.43 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 162.093 Earth masses (0.51 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 0.22 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 0.63 g⊕ (6.18 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 35.6 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-101, WASP-101 b completes one full revolution every 3.586 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.05057 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 153.4 km/s (compared to Earth's 29.8 km/s). The orbit is modeled as circular (e = 0.00), maintaining a constant stellar distance throughout its year.

⚠️ Thermal Regime (Irradiated / Hot Zone): At an equilibrium temperature of 1560 K (+1287°C / +2349°F) and receiving 1,089.17 S⊕ (~1,482,362 W/m²), WASP-101 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-101 is classified as a warm F-type star of spectral type F6 with an effective photospheric temperature of 6,380 K, a radius of 1.31 R☉, a mass of 1.41 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 2.551 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 1.14 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.2 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, WASP-101 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 10.336 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

Discovery Facility: SuperWASP · Catalogue Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC / Caltech).