WASP-15

WASP-15
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Hydra
Right ascension 13h 55m 42.71s[1]
Declination -32° 09′ 34.6″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 10.9
Characteristics
Spectral type F5[1]
Apparent magnitude (B) ~11.3[1]
Apparent magnitude (R) ~11.0[1]
Apparent magnitude (J) 9.956 ±0.023[1]
Apparent magnitude (H) 9.713 ±0.025[1]
Apparent magnitude (K) 9.693 ±0.023[1]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv) -1.6[1] km/s
Distance 1004 ly
(308[2] pc)
Details
Mass 1.18 ±0.12 [2] M
Radius 1.477 ±0.072[2] R
Temperature 6300 ± 100[2] K
Metallicity -0.17 ± 0.11[2]
Age 3.9 −1.3 +2.8[2] Gyr
Other designations
RAVE J135542.7-320934, 2MASS J13554270-3209345,
Database references
SIMBAD data
Extrasolar Planets
Encyclopaedia
data

WASP-15 is a magnitude 11 star located about 1000 light-years away in the constellation Hydra.[1] The star, which is more massive, larger, hotter, and more luminous than the Sun, is also less metal-rich than the Sun. WASP-15 has one known planet in its orbit, WASP-15b; the planet is a Hot Jupiter with an anomalously high radius, a phenomenon which may be explained by the presence of an internal heat source.[2] The star was first observed by the SuperWASP program in 2006; future measurements in 2007 and 2008, as well as follow-up observations and analysis, eventually led to the discovery of WASP-15b using the transit method and Doppler spectroscopy.[2]

Contents

Observational history

WASP-15 was first observed by the South African Astronomical Observatory, which coordinates the planet-searching SuperWASP program in the Southern Hemisphere (WASP-South), and was catalogued by its brightness and its coordinates in the sky. This information was captured first with one camera field between May 4, 2006 and July 17, 2006, and later again using two overlapping camera fields between January 31, 2007 to July 7, 2007 and from January 31, 2008 to May 29, 2008.[2]

Data processing led to the acquisition of 24,943 data points that suggested that some body transited, or crossed in front of (and briefly dimmed), WASP-15 every 3.7520 days. Approximately eleven transits, full and partial, were observed. Use of the EulerCAM photometer at the La Silla Observatory's 1.2 m Leonhard Euler Telescope on March 29, 2008 provided further evidence for an exoplanet by better defining the transit's curve. Later, the CORALIE spectrograph (also on the Euler telescope) between March 6, 2008 and July 17, 2008 used Doppler spectroscopy to collect 21 radial velocity measurements. Analysis confirmed the presence of a planet that was later designated WASP-15b.[2]

Characteristics

WASP-15 is an F-type star with a mass that is 1.18 times larger than the Sun, and a radius that is 1.477 bigger. It is, thus, larger, more massive, and more diffuse than the Sun. The star has an effective temperature of 6300 K, making it also hotter than the Sun.[3] With a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.17, WASP-15 has 0.676 times the amount of iron than the Sun, and has consistently lower levels of other metals, including sodium, magnesium, silicon, calcium, and scandium.[2] In addition, WASP-15 is most likely younger than the Sun, as it has an estimated age of 3.9 billion years.[3] WASP-15 is approximately 3.09 times more luminous than the Sun.[2]

WASP-15 is located at a distance of 308 parsecs (1,004 light years), and it has an estimated apparent magnitude of 10.9. It is, thus, not visible from Earth with the unaided eye.[3]

Planetary system

WASP-15 is host to the planet WASP-15b. The planet, which is a Hot Jupiter, orbits its host star at a distance of 0.0499 AU every 3.7520656 days. WASP-15b was noted by its discoverers because of its anomalously high radius, which is 1.428 times that of Jupiter, compared to its mass, which is 0.542 times the size of Jupiter.[3] WASP-15b's large radius cannot be explained solely by its proximity to its star, suggesting that some form of tidal heating or other internal heating mechanism is also involved.[2]

The WASP-15 system
Companion
(in order from star)
Mass Semimajor axis
(AU)
Orbital period
(days)
Eccentricity
WASP-15b 0.542 ±0.05 MJ 0.0499 ±0.0018 3.7520656 ±2.8e-06 0

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "SIMBAD query result: RAVE J135542.7-320934 -- Star". Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=WASP-15. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m West, R. G.; et al. (2009). "The Low Density Transiting Exoplanet WASP-15b". The Astronomical Journal 137 (6): 4834–4836. arXiv:0902.2651. Bibcode 2009AJ....137.4834W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/137/6/4834. 
  3. ^ a b c d Schneider, J. (2010). "Notes for star WASP-15". Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20101202051747/http://exoplanet.eu/star.php?st=WASP-15#a_publi. Retrieved 2011-05-16. 

External links

Coordinates: 13h 55m 42.71s, −32° 09′ 34.6″