WASP-83 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-83 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-83, located approximately 884.2 light-years (271.1 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2015 by SuperWASP using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 1.0359% across the stellar disk), this world measures 11.657 Earth radii (1.04 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 95.349 Earth masses (0.3 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 0.33 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 0.7 g⊕ (6.86 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 32 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-83, WASP-83 b completes one full revolution every 4.971 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.059 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 129.1 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 1120 K (+847°C / +1557°F) and receiving 238.88 S⊕ (~325,109 W/m²), WASP-83 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-83 is classified as a solar-type yellow star of spectral type G8 with an effective photospheric temperature of 5,510 K, a radius of 1.05 R☉, a mass of 1.11 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 0.912 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 5 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.29 dex (metal-rich relative to the Sun). From Earth, WASP-83 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 12.312 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

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