WASP-67 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-67 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-67, located approximately 618 light-years (189.47 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2012 by SuperWASP using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.8034% across the stellar disk), this world measures 12.89 Earth radii (1.15 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 136.667 Earth masses (0.43 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 0.35 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 0.82 g⊕ (8.04 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 36.4 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-67, WASP-67 b completes one full revolution every 4.614 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.05179 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 122.1 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 1003 K (+730°C / +1346°F) and receiving 188.11 S⊕ (~256,013 W/m²), WASP-67 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-67 is classified as a stellar host with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,200 K, a radius of 0.88 R☉, a mass of 0.91 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.508 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 12.6 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.07 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, WASP-67 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 12.537 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

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