Five hot Jupiter like planets discovered

Scientists have discovered five new Jupiter-like planets that are similar in characteristics to our solar system’s biggest planet.
The newly discovered planets were designated as WASP-119 b, WASP-124 b, WASP-126 b, WASP-129 b and WASP-133 b. They orbit very close to their host stars and hot compared to Jupiter.
Key facts

• These planets were discovered by researchers from Keele University in UK by using Wide Angle Search for Planets-South (WASP-South) instrument.
• Orbital periods of these planets vary from 2.17 to 5.75 days and their radii is between one to 1.5 Jupiter radius. Their masses range from 0.3 to 1.2 the mass of Jupiter.
• Their host star has a similar mass to the Sun of our solar system but it is much older based analysis of its effective temperature and density.
• WASP-124 b: It less massive than Jupiter and has orbital period of 3.4 days and a much younger parent star.
• WASP-126 b: It has the lowest-mass. It has low surface gravity and is a good target for transmission spectroscopy. It is brightest star of among the five.
• WASP-129 b: It is similar in size to Jupiter and has the longest orbital period. Its surface gravity is also high compared to other known hot Jupiters.
• WASP-133 b: It has the shortest orbital period. It is slightly bigger Jupiter.

WASP-South instrument is an array of eight cameras observing selected regions of the southern sky. It studies five stars showing planet-like transits in their light curve. 

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2016