WASP-62 explained

WASP-62, formally named Naledi, is a single star about 573lk=onNaNlk=on away. It is an F class main-sequence star, orbited by a planet, WASP-62b. The age of WASP-62 is much younger than the Sun at 0.8 billion years, and it has a metal abundance similar to the Sun.

Nomenclature

The designation WASP-62 indicates that this was the 62nd star found to have a planet by the Wide Angle Search for Planets.

In December 2019, WASP-62 was named Naledi and its planet was named Krotoa by amateur astronomers from South Africa as part of the second NameExoWorlds campaign.

Planetary system

A transiting hot Jupiter exoplanet orbiting WASP-62 was discovered by WASP in 2012. The planet's equilibrium temperature is 1440 K, but the measured average temperature is colder at 1329.6 K. In 2020, a transmission spectrum indicated the atmosphere of WASP-62b is free of clouds. It contains sodium and possibly silicon hydrides.

The planetary orbit is slightly misaligned to the equatorial plane of the star, with the misalignment angle equal to 19.4°.