WASP-188 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-188 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-188, located approximately 2202.5 light-years (675.28 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2025 by SuperWASP using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 0.5511% across the stellar disk), this world measures 14.818 Earth radii (1.32 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 458.626 Earth masses (1.44 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 0.78 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 2.09 g⊕ (20.5 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 62.2 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-188, WASP-188 b completes one full revolution every 5.749 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.072 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 136.3 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 1666 K (+1393°C / +2539°F) and receiving 1,278.00 S⊕ (~1,739,358 W/m²), WASP-188 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-188 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 6,850 K, a radius of 1.83 R☉, a mass of 1.5 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 6.615 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, WASP-188 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 12.165 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

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