WASP-107b


WASP-107b is a super-Neptune exoplanet that orbits the star WASP-107. It lies 200 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo. Its discovery was announced in 2017 and led by D. R. Anderson and a team of colleagues via the WASP-South.
Helium was discovered in the planet's atmosphere in 2018, making it the first time helium was discovered on an exoplanet. A follow-up observation with Keck in 2020 showed that the helium absorption extends beyond transit-egress.

Characteristics

WASP-107b is a super-Neptune gas-giant exoplanet located 200 light years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo. It is roughly the size of Jupiter but only one-eighth of Jupiter's mass, making it one of the lowest density exoplanets. Its radius is 0.94 times Jupiter's, making its atmosphere fluffy, and coupled with transiting a moderately bright K star makes it a target for atmosphere characterization. It is eight times nearer its star than Mercury is to the Sun and orbits its star every 5.7 days. With a temperature of, its atmosphere makes it one of the hottest known exoplanets. Observations of the helium absorption line have shown that the atmosphere of the planet is boiling off the surface, under the fierce irradiation of the star, and is forming a comet-like tail.