WASP-43b, also known by its celestial moniker Astrolábos, is a fascinating exoplanet offering a glimpse into extreme stellar environments. Buckle up, as we delve into its discovery, fiery disposition, and what it reveals about the diverse worlds beyond our solar system. Discovery and Location: A Blazing Star and Its Close Companion WASP-43b was discovered in 2011 by the SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) program. It circles a young and active K-type star named WASP-43, located roughly 87 light-years away in the constellation Sextans. Fiery Embrace: A Hostile World Unlike the calm orbits of our solar system planets, WASP-43b is locked in a scorching dance with its star. It completes a full revolution in a mere 20 hours, placing it incredibly close – a mere 0.0142 astronomical units (AU) away. This proximity subjects the exoplanet to intense stellar radiation, making it a blistering hot Jupiter with a dayside temperature exceeding 4,600 degrees Celsius (around 8,300 degrees ...
“The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can't imagine”