WASP-39b, officially named Bocaprins, is a "hot Jupiter" extrasolar planet discovered in February 2011[3] by the WASP project, notable for containing a substantial amount of water in its atmosphere.[1][4][5] In addition, for the first time for any exoplanet, WASP-39b was found to contain carbon dioxide in its atmosphere.[6][7]
Exoplanet WASP-39b found to contain substantial amounts of water in its atmosphere (artist's concept, not realistic because not to scale, and the unlit side should be red-hot).[1] | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovery site | WASP[2] |
| Discovery date | 2011[2] |
Detection method | Primary transit[2] |
| Orbital characteristics | |
Semi-major axis | 0.0486±0.0005 AU, (7.27±0.1)×106 km |
| Eccentricity | 0[2] |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 4.05526[2] d |
| Inclination | 87.83±0.25[2] |
| Star | WASP-39[2] |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 1.27±0.04[2] RJ, (91±3)×103 km |
| Mass | 0.28±0.03[2] MJ |
Mean density | 180±40 kg m−3 |
WASP-39b is in the Virgo constellation, and is about 700 light-years from Earth.[1] As part of the NameExoWorlds campaigns at the 100th anniversary of the IAU, the planet was named Bocaprins, after the beach Boca Prins [de; es] in the Arikok National Park of Aruba.

WASP-39b has a mass of about 0.28 times that of Jupiter and a radius about 1.27 times that of Jupiter (91,000 km).[2] It is a hot gas giant planet with a high temperature of 900 °C.[6] The exoplanet orbits very close (7 million km) to WASP-39, its host star, every 4 days.[1]
WASP-39b is also notable for having an extremely low density, near that of WASP-17b. While WASP-17b has a density of 0.13±0.06 g/cm3, WASP-39b has a slightly higher density of 0.18±0.04 g/cm3.
![WASP-39b's atmospheric transmission spectrum captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) reveals first clear evidence for carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system.[6]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/WASP-39b_Atmosphere_Composition.png/220px-WASP-39b_Atmosphere_Composition.png)
Hot water molecules were found in the atmosphere of WASP-39b in a 2018 study.[1] The atmospheric transmission spectra, taken by different instruments, were inconsistent as in 2021, possibly indicating a disequilibrium atmospheric chemistry.[8]
High-fidelity spectra obtained by JWST in 2022 did not confirm a disequilibrium chemistry. WASP-39b is the first exoplanet in which carbon dioxide has been detected.[6][9][7]
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 14h 29m 18.4151689656s |
| Declination | −03° 26′ 40.204480380″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.09 |
| Distance | 702 ± 2 ly (215.4 ± 0.7 pc) |
| Other designations | |
2MASS J14291840-0326403, Gaia DR2 3643098875168270592, Gaia EDR3 3643098875168270592 | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
The parent star WASP-39 is of spectral class G and is slightly smaller than our own Sun. It lies in the Virgo constellation, 698 light-years from Earth.[1] The star WASP-39 was named Malmok.[10][11]
Media related to WASP-39b at Wikimedia Commons
2011 in space | ||
|---|---|---|
2012 » | ||
| Space probe launches |
| |
| Selected NEOs | ||
| Exoplanets |
| |
| Discoveries |
| |
| Novae | ||
| Comets | ||
| Space exploration |
| |
| ||