HAT-P-8b is an extrasolar planet located approximately 720 light years away in the constellation of Pegasus, orbiting the 10th magnitude star GSC 02757-01152. This planet was discovered by transit on December 5, 2008. Despite the designation as HAT-P-8b, it is the 11th planet discovered by the HATNet Project. The mass of the planet is 50% more than Jupiter while the radius is also 50% more than Jupiter. The mass of this planet is exact since the inclination of the orbit is known, typical for transiting planets. This is a so-called “hot Jupiter” because this Jupiter-like gas giant planet orbits in a really close torch orbit around the star, making this planet extremely hot (in the order of a thousand kelvins). The distance from the star is roughly 20 times smaller than that of Earth from the Sun, which places the planet roughly 8 times closer to its star than Mercury is from the Sun. The “year” on this planet lasts only 3 days, 1 hour, 49 minutes, and 54 seconds, compared with Earth's 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 10 seconds in a sidereal year.[4]
![]() Size comparison of HAT-P-8b with Jupiter. | |
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | HATNet Project |
Discovery date | December 5, 2008 |
Detection method | Transit |
Orbital characteristics | |
Semi-major axis | 0.04496+0.00046 −0.00045 AU |
Eccentricity | <0.0060[1] |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 3.0763458±0.0000024[2] d |
Inclination | 87.5+1.9 −0.9 |
Star | GSC 02757-01152 |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 1.334±0.013 RJ[3] |
Mass | 1.354±0.035[1] MJ |
The study in 2012, utilizing a Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, have determined the planetary orbit is mildly misaligned with the rotational axis of the star, misalignment equal to -17+9.2
−11.5°.[5]
Media related to HAT-P-8 b at Wikimedia Commons