Swiss space telescope delivers first results on 'extreme' exoplanet

2020-09-28 02:32:32

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(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Eight months after the CHEOPS telescope started its journey into space, scientists have published their first results: an in-depth analysis of the exoplanet WASP-189b, one of the most extreme planets in the universe.

This content was published on September 28, 2020 - 14:44 September 28, 2020 - 14:44 UNIGE/sb

The telescope is travelling on board the satellite CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) as part of a three-year mission to study exoplanets.

The first exoplanet to be surveyed by the CHEOPS telescope is known as WASP-189b. It is orbiting the star HD 133112, one of the hottest stars known to have a planetary system, scientists say.

'The WASP-189 system is 322 light-years away and located in the constellation Libra (the weighing scales),' explained Monika Lendl from the University of Geneva in a statement on Monday.

'WASP-189b is especially interesting because it is a gas giant that orbits very close to its host star. It takes less than three days for it to circle its star, and it is 20 times closer to it than Earth is to the Sun.'

The planet is over one-and-a-half times as big as Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar system.

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