WASP-80 is a K-type main-sequence star about 162 light-years away from Earth. The star's age is much younger than the Sun's at 1.352 billion years. WASP-80 could be similar to the Sun in concentration of heavy elements, although this measurement is highly uncertain.
The star was named Petra in 2019 by Jordanian amateur astronomers as part of the NameExoWorlds contest.[1]
Three multiplicity surveys in 2015-2018 did not detect any stellar companions to WASP-80, but a survey in 2020 detected a 0.07 companion candidate at an angular separation 2.132 arcseconds, with a false alarm probability of 3%.
In 2013 a transiting hot Jupiter planet WASP-80 b was detected on a tight, circular orbit. The planet was named Wadirum by Jordanian astronomers in December 2019.[1] Its equilibrium temperature is, while measured temperature of the dayside is 937 K and temperature of the nightside is 851 K. This temperature difference indicates a rather low planetary albedo and weak global transport of heat.
Measurement of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect in 2015 revealed WASP-80b's is orbit is well-aligned with the equatorial plane of the star, with orbital obliquity equal to 14°.
Although one transmission spectrum of the planetary atmosphere showed signs of ionised potassium, another measurement in 2017 yielded a gray and featureless spectrum, probably due to a high cloud deck or haze in the atmosphere of WASP-80b. The James Webb Space Telescope has characterized the atmospheric composition of WASP-80 b, detecting signs of water vapor and methane on the planet.[2] This discovery not only uncovers the exoplanet's origin and evolution but also fosters a comparative study bridging our solar system's gas giants and diverse exoplanets.[3]