WASP-17 is an

F-type main sequence An F-type main-sequence star (F V) is a main-sequence, hydrogen-fusing star of spectral type F and luminosity class V. These stars have from 1.0 to 1.4 times the mass of the Sun and surface temperatures between 6,000 and 7,600 K.Tables VII ...

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

approximately 1,300

light-year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

s away in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Scorpius. WASP-17 is named Dìwö. The name was selected in the NameExoWorlds campaign by

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, during the 100th anniversary of the IAU. Dìwö in

Bribri language Bribri, also known as Bri-bri, Bribriwak, and Bribri-wak, is a Chibchan language, from a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian Area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of those countries ...

means the sun. The star, although similar to Sun in terms of overall contents of heavy elements, is depleted of carbon. Carbon to oxygen molar ratio of 0.18 for WASP-17 is well below solar ratio of 0.55.

Planetary system

As of 2009, an extrasolar planet has been confirmed to orbit the star. The star is unusual in that it has an orbiting

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 ...

, WASP-17b, which is believed to orbit in the opposite direction to the star's spin and is said to be twice the size of Jupiter, but half its mass. It is subject to intensive photo-evaporation, and may be completely destroyed within one billion years from now.D. Ehrenreich and J.-M. Désert, "Mass-loss rates for transiting exoplanets", 2011
/ref> The planet was discovered by the SuperWASP project, hence the name.

References

Scorpius (constellation) F-type main-sequence stars Planetary systems with one confirmed planet Planetary transit variables J15595095-2803422 17 {{main-star-stub