Extreme-class world
WASP-12
A hot Jupiter being literally devoured by its star — losing 6×10⁹ tonnes/sec.
- Planets
- 1
- Distance
- 1393.5 ly
- Host
- G-type
About WASP-12
Discovery
WASP-12 b was discovered in 2008 by the SuperWASP survey (Hebb et al. 2009), a massively inflated hot Jupiter on a 1.09-day orbit so tight that the planet is distorted into an egg shape by tidal forces.
Why it matters
WASP-12 b is being slowly consumed by its host star: HST observations have shown its atmosphere overflowing the Roche lobe, and Hubble photometric work confirmed its orbit is decaying on a measurable timescale — a rare in-progress example of orbital decay.
Current research
Long-baseline transit timing continues to refine the orbital-decay rate, and JWST has been used to probe the carbon-rich nature of its atmosphere.
Comparable to
A Jupiter-mass world stretched into a football by its star's gravity, spiraling inward fast enough that astronomers can watch the clock tick.
System geometry
At a glance
- Hostname
- WASP-12
- Spectral type
- G2V
- Distance
- 1393.5 ly · 427.25 pc
- Stellar mass
- 1.32 M☉
- Stellar radius
- 1.69 R☉
- Luminosity
- 3.955 L☉
- Effective temp
- 6265 K
- Confirmed planets
- 1
- Habitable zone
- 1.889 – 2.724 AU
Top-down orbital diagram
Orbits to scale within this system. Dashed green = habitable-zone edges.
Planet positions are illustrative (evenly spaced in phase). For live motion see the 3D scene.
The planets
1 confirmed.
Gas giant
WASP-12 b
- Orbit
- 0.023 AU
- Period
- 1.09 days
- Radius
- 22.03 R⊕
- Mass
- 467.21 M⊕
- Eq. temperature
- 2601 K
- Eccentricity
- 0.045
- Discovered
- 2008 · Transit
Compared to our Solar System
Each row shows the closest Solar-System analog by radius (log-space). Earth is pinned at the bottom as the constant frame of reference.
| Planet | Radius (R⊕) | Mass (M⊕) | Orbit (AU) | Period (days) | Eq temp (K) | Solar analog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WASP-12 b | 22.03 | 467.21 | 0.023 | 1.09 | 2601 | Jupiter |
| Earth (reference) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.000 | 365.25 | 255 | — |
Research status
◇ JWST observation status
1 planet has confirmed JWST observation time across Cycles 1–3.
- WASP-12 b
JWST programs include transit spectroscopy, thermal phase curves, and direct imaging coronagraph observations depending on planet class.
Discovery timeline
- 2008
WASP-12 b
via Transit
If you liked this
Other systems in the same theme:
51 Pegasi
1 planets · 50.4 ly · G5V
First exoplanet ever found around a sun-like star (1995, Nobel Prize 2019).
HD 209458
1 planets · 157.5 ly · G0 V
First exoplanet seen transiting its star (1999) — atmospheric studies pioneer.
KELT-9
1 planets · 666.8 ly · B9.5-A0
The hottest known exoplanet — daytime hotter than most stars (4,600 K).
Experience it
See WASP-12 in interactive 3D
Fly through the system, click any planet, watch orbits play out at 100× speed.
▶ Launch 3D scene