WASP-64 is a star about 1200 light-years away. It is a G7 class
main-sequence star
In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar He ...
, orbited by a planet WASP-64b. It is younger than the Sun at 3.6 billion years,
[ and it has a metal abundance similar to the Sun.][ The star is rotating rapidly, being spun up by the giant planet in a close orbit.][
WASP-64 was named ''Atakoraka'' in 2019 after the ]Atacora
Atakora is the northwesternmost department of Benin. Externally it borders Togo to the west and Burkina Faso to the north; internally it borders the departments of Alibori, Borgou and Donga. Major towns in the Atakora include Natitingou an ...
, the largest mountain range in Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...
. An imaging survey in 2017 failed to find any stellar companions.
Planetary system
A transiting hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters (sometimes called hot Saturns) are a class of gas giant exoplanets that are inferred to be physically similar to Jupiter but that have very short orbital periods (). The close proximity to their stars and high surface-atmosphere temp ...
exoplanet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
orbiting WASP-64 was discovered by WASP
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
in 2012. The planetary equilibrium temperature is 1672 K,[ while the measured dayside temperature is hotter at 1989 K.][ Due to the close proximity of the planet to the parent star, orbital decay of WASP-64b, along with HATS-2, may be detectable in the near future.] WASP-64b was named ''Agouto'' (after Mount Agou
Mount Agou ( French: ''Mont Agou'', earlier known as ''Baumannspitze'' or Baumann Peak) is the highest mountain in Togo at . It is situated to the south east of Kpalimé in the Plateaux Region of Togo. The mountain lies close to the border with ...
, the highest point of Togo which lies within the Atacora chain) in 2019 by amateur astronomers from Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...
as part of the NameExoWorlds
NameExoWorlds (also known as IAU NameExoWorlds) is the name of various projects managed by the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.) to encourage names to be submitted for astronomical objects, which would later be considered for official ad ...
contest.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:WASP-64
G-type main-sequence stars
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Planetary transit variables
Canis Major
J06442760-3251302