Temperatures on Exoplanet WASP-43b
The story
A mere 280 light-years from Earth, tidally locked, Jupiter-sized exoplanet WASP-43b orbits its parent star once every 0.8 Earth days. That puts it about 2 million kilometers (less than 1/25th the orbital distance of Mercury) from a small, cool sun. Still, on a dayside always facing its parent star, temperatures approach a torrid 2,500 degrees F as measured at infrared wavelengths by the MIRI instrument on board the James Webb Space Telescope. In this illustration of the hot e
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What is this image of?
A mere 280 light-years from Earth, tidally locked, Jupiter-sized exoplanet WASP-43b orbits its parent star once every 0.8 Earth days. That puts it about 2 million kilometers (less than 1/25th the orbital distance of Mercury) from a small, c…
Who captured it?
This image is credited to NASA, featured via NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
When was it published?
NASA featured this image on 2024-05-03.
Can I use this image?
NASA imagery is generally free to use for education; check the official APOD page for specific credit and licensing.
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