WASP-4 is a
G-type main-sequence star
A G-type main-sequence star (spectral type: G-V), also often, and imprecisely, called a yellow dwarf, or G star, is a main sequence, main-sequence star (luminosity class V) of stellar classification, spectral type G. Such a star has about 0.9 to ...
approximately 891
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astr ...
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 first constellati ...
of
Phoenix.
Despite its advanced age, the star is rotating rapidly, being spun up by the tides raised by a giant planet on a close orbit.
[
]
Planetary system
In 2007 the exoplanet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first det ...
WASP-4b was discovered orbiting this star. With an orbital period of just 1.3 days, it is classified as a hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters (sometimes called hot Saturns) are a class of gas giant exoplanets that are inferred to be physically similar to Jupiter (i.e. Jupiter analogue, Jupiter analogues) but that have very short orbital periods (). The close proximity to t ...
.superjovian
A super-Jupiter is a gas giant exoplanet that is more massive than the planet Jupiter. For example, companions at the planet–brown dwarf borderline have been called super-Jupiters, such as around the star Kappa Andromedae.
Makeup
By 2011 th ...
planet in the system is suspected.[ The orbital decay was confirmed in a 2025 study.][
]
See also
* SuperWASP
WASP or Wide Angle Search for Planets is an international consortium of several academic organisations performing an ultra-wide angle search for exoplanets using transit photometry. The array of robotic telescopes aims to survey the entire sky ...
* List of extrasolar planets
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
External links
*
*
Phoenix (constellation)
G-type main-sequence stars
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Planetary transit variables
4
J23341508-4203411
232
Year 232 ( CCXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lupus and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 985 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 232 for this year ...
402026209
{{variable-star-stub