WASP-169 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-169 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-169, located approximately 2045.2 light-years (627.07 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2019 by WASP-South using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 0.4441% across the stellar disk), this world measures 14.617 Earth radii (1.3 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 178.303 Earth masses (0.56 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 0.31 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 0.83 g⊕ (8.14 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 39.1 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-169, WASP-169 b completes one full revolution every 5.611 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.0681 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 132 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 1604 K (+1331°C / +2428°F) and receiving 1,486.86 S⊕ (~2,023,614 W/m²), WASP-169 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-169 is classified as a warm F-type star of spectral type F8 with an effective photospheric temperature of 6,110 K, a radius of 2.011 R☉, a mass of 1.337 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 5.057 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 3.802 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.06 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, WASP-169 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 12.167 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

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