Inclination relative to host star's equator (i) Discoverer(s) HATNet Project | Discovery date March 6, 2008 Discovery status Published | |
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Other detection methods Radial velocity
Reflection/emission modulations
Ellipsoidal light variations | ||
HAT-P-7b (or Kepler-2b) is an extrasolar planet discovered in 2008. It orbits very close to its host star, and is both larger and more massive than Jupiter. Due to the extreme heat it receives from its star, the dayside temperature is predicted to be 2730+150
−100 K.
Contents
History
The GSC 03547-01402 system is within the field of view of the Kepler Mission spacecraft, which confirmed the transit and orbital properties of the planet with significantly improved confidence and observed occultation and light curve characteristics consistent with a strongly absorbing atmosphere with limited advection to the night side. In testing itself on HAT-P-7b, Kepler proved it was sensitive enough to detect Earth-like planets.
In August 2009, it was announced that HAT-P-7b may have a retrograde orbit, based upon measurements of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. This announcement came only a day after the announcement of the first planet discovered with such an orbit, WASP-17b.
In January 2010, it was announced that ellipsoidal light variations were detected for HAT-P-7b, the first detection of such kind. This method analyses the brightness variation caused by the rotation of a star as its shape tidally distorted by the planet.
On July 4, 2011, HAT-P-7b was the subject of the Hubble Space Telescope's one millionth science observation.
Weather
In December 2016, a letter published in Nature Astronomy by Dr. David Armstrong and his colleagues described evidence of strong wind jets of variable speed on HAT-P-7b. High variation in wind speed would explain similar variations in light reflected from HAT-P-7b's atmosphere. In particular, the brightest point on the planet shifts its phase or position on a timescale of only tens to hundreds of days, suggesting high variation in global wind speeds and cloud coverage. Condensation models of HAT-P-7b predict precipitation of Al2O3 (corundum) on the night side of the planet's atmosphere. Because corundum gems are rubies and sapphires, one can describe the hypothetical weather on the planet's night side as "raining rubies and sapphires."