WASP-56 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-56 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-56, located approximately 1047.2 light-years (321.08 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2012 by SuperWASP using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.0124% across the stellar disk), this world measures 10.536 Earth radii (0.94 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 143.024 Earth masses (0.45 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 0.67 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 1.29 g⊕ (12.65 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 41.2 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-56, WASP-56 b completes one full revolution every 4.617 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.05614 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 132.3 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 1216 K (+943°C / +1729°F) and receiving 447.82 S⊕ (~609,483 W/m²), WASP-56 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-56 is classified as a solar-type yellow star of spectral type G6 with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,600 K, a radius of 0.96 R☉, a mass of 0.71 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.813 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 6.2 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.12 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, WASP-56 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 12.091 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

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