WASP-50 is a G-type main-sequence star about 594 light-years away. The star is older than the Sun and slightly depleted in heavy elements compared to the Sun, and has a close to average starspot activity. Despite its advanced age, the star is rotating rapidly, being spun up by the tides raised by giant planet on close orbit.
The star was named Chaophraya in December 2019 by the Thai amateur astronomers.[1]
In 2011 a transiting hot superjovian planet b (named Maeping in 2019[1]) was detected. In 2022 its albedo was found to be no more than 0.44, meaning that the planet reflects less than 44% of the light irradiated by its host star. This allows the planetary equilibrium temperature to be constrained at .[2]