Star · G8V
WASP-42
WASP-42 is a main-sequence star of spectral type G8V in the constellation Centaurus, 578.3 light-years from the Sun. It is orbited by 1 confirmed exoplanet(s).
| Constellation | Centaurus |
|---|---|
| Distance | 578.3 light-years (177.3 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 12.17 |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude 5.93 |
| Spectral type | G8V |
| Surface temperature | 5,320 K |
| Luminosity | 0.436 L☉ |
| Radius | 0.892 R☉ |
| Mass | 0.951 M☉ |
| Age | 4.4 billion years |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | 0.29 |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 12h 51m 55.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | −42° 04′ 25″ |
| Space velocity (relative to the Sun) | 42.0 km/s |
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 12.17. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 48° N. South of latitude 48° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1448. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 10 million years.
The Sun seen from there
From a planet around WASP-42, the Sun would look like a star of magnitude 11.07, in the direction where our sky has the constellation Andromeda. It would be invisible to the naked eye.
Planets
- WASP-42 b 4.98-day orbit · 12.6 R⊕
Stellar parameters from the NASA Exoplanet Archive; position and brightness from the HYG / AT-HYG catalogue.