Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Bouma, L. G.
• Winn, J. N.
• Baxter, C.
• Bhatti, W.
• Dai, F.
• Daylan, T.
• Désert, J.-M.
• Hill, M. L.
• Kane, S. R.
• Stassun, K. G.
• Villasenor, J.
• Ricker, G. R.
• Vanderspek, R.
• Latham, D. W.
• Seager, S.
• Jenkins, J. M.
• Berta-Thompson, Z.
• Colón, K.
• Fausnaugh, M.
• Glidden, Ana
• Guerrero, N.
• Rodriguez, J. E.
• Twicken, J. D.
• Wohler, B.

Titel

WASP-4b Arrived Early for the TESS Mission

Ist Teil von

• The Astronomical journal, 2019-06, Vol.157 (6), p.217

Ort / Verlag

Goddard Space Flight Center: The American Astronomical Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) recently observed 18 transits of the hot Jupiter WASP-4b. The sequence of transits occurred 81.6 11.7 s earlier than had been predicted, based on data stretching back to 2007. This is unlikely to be the result of a clock error, because TESS observations of other hot Jupiters (WASP-6b, 18b, and 46b) are compatible with a constant period, ruling out an 81.6 s offset at the 6.4 level. The 1.3 day orbital period of WASP-4b appears to be decreasing at a rate of ms per year. The apparent period change might be caused by tidal orbital decay or apsidal precession, although both interpretations have shortcomings. The gravitational influence of a third body is another possibility, though at present there is minimal evidence for such a body. Further observations are needed to confirm and understand the timing variation.