WASP-61 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-61 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-61, located approximately 1593.8 light-years (488.66 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2012 by SuperWASP using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 0.8739% across the stellar disk), this world measures 15.805 Earth radii (1.41 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 851.784 Earth masses (2.68 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 1.19 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 3.41 g⊕ (33.44 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 82.1 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-61, WASP-61 b completes one full revolution every 3.856 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.0521 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 147 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 1624 K (+1351°C / +2464°F) and receiving 1,062.03 S⊕ (~1,445,423 W/m²), WASP-61 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-61 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 6,250 K, a radius of 1.55 R☉, a mass of 1.82 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 3.289 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 2.7 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.1 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, WASP-61 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 12.489 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

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