WASP-50 b: A Transiting Giant Around an Older Star

WASP-50 is a star 603 light-years away, and the single planet reported to orbit it is WASP-50 b. The star is 7 billion years old, with a reported mass of 0.89 solar masses and a reported radius of 0.84 solar radii, both smaller than the Sun's. Its temperature is 5400 K, cooler than the Sun's.

WASP-50 b is a Jupiter-like planet, a class defined by a radius exceeding 4 times Earth's. It was discovered by transit, the method in which a planet passing in front of its star from our viewpoint causes a small dip in observed brightness; repeated dips help establish orbital periods. Its orbital period is 1.96 days.

The planet's radius is 13.1 Earth radii, larger than Earth's, and its mass is 467 Earth masses, also larger than Earth's and roughly 1.47 times Jupiter's mass. Its mean density is 1.15 g/cm³, 0.209 times Earth's.