Astronomers discover new ‘hot Jupiter’ spinning up its parent star

Zee Media Bureau

New York: A giant 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet was recently discovered by an international team of astronomers which was led by Kaloyan Penev of Princeton University.

The 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet is called HATS-18b and close to its parent star that it influences the star’s rotation with its gravity.

The new exoplanet is about 2,100 light years away.

Hot Jupiters also known as roaster planets are giant exoplanets that orbit close to their parent stars.

They orbit their stars in a short time and can be easily observed in transit.

The newly discovered exoplanet orbits its star in just 0.84 days, has a radius about 1.34 times that of Jupiter, and has twice the mass of the Jovian gas giant in our solar system, the report said.

“The high planet mass, combined with its short orbital period, implies strong tidal coupling between the planetary orbit and the star,” said the researchers

(With IANS inputs)