WASP-12b 3D Model
| Credit | NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD) |
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The doomed planet WASP-12b is a hot Jupiter that orbits so close to its parent star, it's being torn apart. It takes this alien world only 1.1 days to completely circle its sun. The star's scorching heat is slowly stripping away and devouring the planet's atmosphere. In 10 million years, this alien world could be completely consumed.
Almost two times the size of our Jupiter, WASP-12b is a sizzling gas giant whose temperature is approximately 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,210 degrees Celsius). Gravity causes enormous tidal forces which are stretching the planet into the shape of an egg.
WASP-12b is located roughly 1,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga. It was discovered in March 2009 using the transit method. It is 1.8 times Jupiter's radius, and 1.4 times Jupiter's mass.