WASP-163 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-163 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-163, located approximately 852.5 light-years (261.39 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2018 by SuperWASP-South using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.4809% across the stellar disk), this world measures 13.473 Earth radii (1.2 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 594.342 Earth masses (1.87 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 1.34 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 3.27 g⊕ (32.07 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 74.3 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-163, WASP-163 b completes one full revolution every 1.61 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.0266 AU (an ultra-close orbit less than one-seventh of Mercury's 0.387 AU distance from the Sun, where strong stellar tidal forces typically induce synchronous rotation). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 179.8 km/s (compared to Earth's 29.8 km/s).

⚠️ Thermal Regime (Irradiated / Hot Zone): At an equilibrium temperature of 1638 K (+1365°C / +2489°F) and receiving 1,200.00 S⊕ (~1,633,200 W/m²), WASP-163 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-163 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,500 K, a radius of 1.015 R☉, a mass of 0.97 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.846 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.34 dex (metal-poor relative to the Sun). From Earth, WASP-163 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 12.663 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

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