Why is WASP-12b stretched into an egg shape?

The star's gravity pulls on it with tidal forces

What did astronomers confirm about WASP-12b's orbit around 2020?

It is shrinking and the planet is spiraling inward

What did Hubble observations in 2017 reveal about the planet?

It reflects very little light, as dark as fresh asphalt

WASP-12b Quiz: The Hot Jupiter Being Eaten by Its Star

A full year on this giant world lasts about 26 hours, and this WASP-12b quiz explains why the planet is spiraling toward its star. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the 2008 SuperWASP discovery, scorching temperatures, its stretched egg shape, a dark, light-absorbing surface and the shrinking orbit measured by TESS.

Start WASP-12b Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Type
What kind of planet is WASP-12b?
Discovery
Which survey discovered WASP-12b in 2008?
Year
Roughly how long does WASP-12b take to orbit its star?
Heat
Roughly how hot is WASP-12b's dayside?
Shape
Why is WASP-12b stretched into an egg shape?
Decay
What did astronomers confirm about WASP-12b's orbit around 2020?
TESS
Which NASA mission helped confirm the orbital decay?
Dark
What did Hubble observations in 2017 reveal about the planet?
Size
How does WASP-12b's radius compare with Jupiter's?
Mass loss
What is the star doing to WASP-12b's atmosphere?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What kind of planet is WASP-12b?
Answer: A hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are gas giants orbiting extremely close to their stars.
Q2: Which survey discovered WASP-12b in 2008?
Answer: SuperWASP
SuperWASP uses wide-field cameras to catch planets passing in front of stars.
Q3: Roughly how long does WASP-12b take to orbit its star?
Answer: About 26 hours
Its orbit is only about 1.1 Earth days.
Q4: Roughly how hot is WASP-12b's dayside?
Answer: About 2,500 degrees Celsius
Its closeness to the star makes it one of the hottest known planets.
Q5: Why is WASP-12b stretched into an egg shape?
Answer: The star's gravity pulls on it with tidal forces
Strong tides distort the planet toward and away from the star.
Q6: What did astronomers confirm about WASP-12b's orbit around 2020?
Answer: It is shrinking and the planet is spiraling inward
Its period shortens by about 29 milliseconds a year, suggesting destruction in a few million years.
Q7: Which NASA mission helped confirm the orbital decay?
Answer: TESS
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite measured transit timings.
Q8: What did Hubble observations in 2017 reveal about the planet?
Answer: It reflects very little light, as dark as fresh asphalt
Its dayside absorbs most light, giving a very low albedo.
Q9: How does WASP-12b's radius compare with Jupiter's?
Answer: It is nearly twice as wide
Intense heating has puffed up its atmosphere.
Q10: What is the star doing to WASP-12b's atmosphere?
Answer: Pulling material off it
Gas escapes the planet and streams toward the star.

Wasp-12b Quiz – A Planet Being Eaten

WASP-12b is a gas giant discovered in 2008 by the SuperWASP survey. It orbits a star in the constellation Auriga so closely that a year there lasts only about 26 hours.

The planet is one of the hottest known, with a dayside around 2,500 degrees Celsius. Tidal forces stretch it into an egg shape and pull gas from its puffed-up atmosphere toward the star. Hubble found it reflects very little light.

Precise timing, confirmed with NASA's TESS around 2020, shows the orbit is shrinking by about 29 milliseconds each year. Astronomers expect WASP-12b to spiral into its star within a few million years.

What This Quiz Teaches

Space fans and students will enjoy these questions.

What a hot Jupiter is
How the planet was found
Why it is stretched
How its orbit is changing
What Hubble revealed

Did You Know?

WASP stands for Wide Angle Search for Planets.
The star WASP-12 is hotter than the Sun.
Hot Jupiters were unexpected before 1995.
Transit timing reveals tiny orbital changes.
WASP-12b is about 1.4 times Jupiter's mass.