WASP-29 is a
binary star
A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in ...
system in the
constellation of
Phoenix. The primary star is an orange
main sequence
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 Her ...
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...
. Its comoving companion, a
red dwarf
''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave (TV channel), Dave since 2009, gaining a ...
star, was discovered in 2021.
[ The star system kinematically belongs to the ]thin disk
The thin disk is a structural component of spiral and S0-type galaxies, composed of stars, gas and dust. It is the main non-centre (e.g. galactic bulge) density, of such matter. That of the Milky Way is thought to have a scale height of around ...
of the Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked ey ...
.[
]
Star characteristics
Primary is an old star with small starspot
Starspots are stellar phenomena, so-named by analogy with sunspots.
Spots as small as sunspots have not been detected on other stars, as they would cause undetectably small fluctuations in brightness. The commonly observed starspots are in gen ...
activity and low x-ray
X-rays (or rarely, ''X-radiation'') are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. In many languages, it is referred to as Röntgen radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered it in 1895 and named it ' ...
flux.
Planetary system
The "Hot Saturn" class planet WASP-29b was discovered around WASP-29 in 2010. The planet would have an equilibrium temperature of 960 K. The planetary atmosphere has abundant carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide ( chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
but likely lacks methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ear ...
and sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
, although high and dense cloud deck of WASP-29 b prevent the high-quality spectroscopic measurements.
A study in 2018 revealed the stability of planetary orbits in the habitable zone of WASP-29 is significantly affected by the WASP-29b planet.[Nikolaos Georgakarakos, Siegfried Eggl, and Ian Dobbs-Dixon1Giant, "Planets: Good Neighbors for Habitable Worlds?", 2018]
/ref>
References
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Phoenix (constellation)
Binary stars
K-type main-sequence stars
M-type main-sequence stars
Planetary transit variables
J23513108-3954241
29
Durchmusterung objects
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