WASP-88 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

WASP-88 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star WASP-88, located approximately 1708.3 light-years (523.76 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2014 by SuperWASP using the Transit detection technique (producing an estimated primary transit depth of 0.6948% across the stellar disk), this world measures 16.365 Earth radii (1.46 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 133.489 Earth masses (0.42 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 0.17 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 0.5 g⊕ (4.9 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 31.9 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around WASP-88, WASP-88 b completes one full revolution every 4.954 Earth days at a semi-major axis of 0.06431 AU (orbiting interior to Mercury's 0.387 AU benchmark in the Solar System). Its mean orbital velocity is approximately 141.2 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 1772 K (+1499°C / +2730°F) and receiving 1,489.55 S⊕ (~2,027,283 W/m²), WASP-88 b orbits interior to the runaway greenhouse boundary where surface liquid water cannot persist.

The host star WASP-88 is classified as a warm F-type star of spectral type F6 with an effective photospheric temperature of 6,430 K, a radius of 1.8 R☉, a mass of 0.94 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 4.969 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates an estimated stellar age of 3 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.08 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, WASP-88 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 11.388 (faint and requiring research-grade or CCD telescopic photometry) in the Southern celestial hemisphere.

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