Hot Jupiter

Uncommon card · No. 187430

Hot Jupiters (sometimes called hot Saturns for less massive objects) are a class of gas giant exoplanets that are inferred to be physically similar to Jupiter (i.e. Jupiter analogues) but that have very short orbital periods (P < 10 days). The close proximity to their stars and high surface-atmosphere temperatures resulted in their informal name "hot Jupiters". Hot Jupiters are the easiest extrasolar planets to detect via the radial-velocity method, because the oscillations they induce in their parent stars' motion are relatively large and rapid compared to those of other known types of planets. One of the best-known hot Jupiters is 51 Pegasi b. Discovered in 1995, it was the first extrasolar planet found orbiting a Sun-like star. 51 Pegasi b has an orbital period of about four days.

Read on Wikipedia · Image ESO/M. Kornmesser, CC BY 4.0