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CONFIRMED EXOPLANET · Gas giant

WASP-121 b

WASP-121 b orbits the star WASP-121, 880.3 light-years from Earth. It completes an orbit in 1.275 Earth days.

DISCOVERED 2016 · Transit

Get to know this world ↓
Artist’s impression of WASP-121 b. Appearance is interpretive, not an observed surface.
ARTIST’S IMPRESSION
Gas giantPlanet type

Size-based classification; composition may be uncertain.

19.53 × Earth’s radiusSize

Around 1,853% wider than Earth.

1.275 daysYear length

Time to complete one orbit.

880.3 light-yearsDistance

Its light travels for roughly 880 years to reach us.

2016Discovered

Transit

SIZE IN PERSPECTIVE
Earth
1 Earth radius
WASP-121 b
19.53 Earth radii
Radius comparison · silhouettes only, not surface appearance.
A YEAR, REIMAGINED

1.275 Earth days

Earth 365.25 daysWASP-121 b 0.0035 Earth years

This is how long the planet takes to complete one orbit around its star.

Overview

WASP-121 b is one of the confirmed worlds in the NASA Exoplanet Archive. Recorded as discovered in 2016. The credited discovery facility is SuperWASP. Its Transit evidence gives us a way to study a planet that is usually too faint to see directly.

Its recorded radius is 19.53 times Earth's radius. Size is useful for comparison, but it cannot establish surface conditions by itself.

The planet

The archive lists a mass or minimum-mass value of 371.86 Earth masses (Mass). Radius: 19.53 Earth radii.

Mass and radius constrain possible interiors; multiple compositions can fit a given set of measurements.

Orbit & year

A year here lasts 1.275 Earth days. Its recorded semi-major axis is 0.026 AU. One AU is roughly the Earth–Sun distance.

Eccentricity: 0.009. Zero describes a circular orbit; increasing values describe more elongated ellipses.

Host star

WASP-121 · F6 V.

Effective temperature: 6,628 K.

Mass: 1.33 times the Sun’s mass.

Planetary system

1 confirmed planets are stored for this star.

WASP-121 b · 1.275-day orbit

Discovery

Reported discovery year: 2016. Method: Transit. Facility: SuperWASP.

First stored in this atlas: 04/10/2026. This is an ingestion date, not a confirmation date.

How these methods work ↗

Potential habitability

The data here does not establish habitability, liquid water, or life. An appropriate atmosphere and many other conditions would be needed.

The listed equilibrium temperature is 2,409 K. This is an estimated energy-balance temperature, not a measured surface temperature.

Understand the habitable zone ↗

What do we actually know?

Observed

The underlying light, motion or timing signal. Usually not a photograph of the planet.

Measured

Parameters derived from observations, with instrument and model uncertainty.

Calculated

Our light-year conversion and browsing class are calculated from archive values.

Estimated

Equilibrium temperature is an energy-balance estimate, not surface weather.

Inferred

Possible composition depends on models and may not be unique.

Unknown

Surface conditions and the presence of life are not established here.

Measured signals are interpreted through models. The archive’s composite table combines published values and may include calculated estimates. Values do not necessarily form one self-consistent solution.

Radius and mass can be estimated or inferred, orbital period comes from recurring observations, and size classification is calculated by this site. Atmospheric and surface conditions remain unknown unless established by specific observations.

Consult the archive for individual parameter references and uncertainty intervals before scientific use.

Scientific data

Radius19.52604 Earth radii
Mass / minimum mass371.85924 Earth masses (Mass)
Orbital period1.27493 Earth days
Semi-major axis0.02571 AU
Eccentricity0.0085
Equilibrium temperature2,409 K · estimated, not surface temperature
Host star temperature6,628 K
Host star mass1.33 Solar masses
Host star radius1.461 Solar radii
Distance269.898 parsecs
Discovery year2,016
Discovery methodTransit
Discovery facilitySuperWASP
Discovery publication2016-06
Stellar spectral typeF6 V

Uncertainties and parameter provenance

Archive uncertainty ranges and published references, where available. A missing uncertainty does not imply an exact value.

ParameterUncertainty / source
Radius+0.06725 / -0.06725Sing et al. 2024
Mass / minimum mass+13.66662 / -13.66662Sing et al. 2024
Orbital period+0 / -0Sing et al. 2024
Equilibrium temperature+24 / -24Sing et al. 2024

Sources

ARTIST’S IMPRESSION

Interpretive gas-giant cloud structures, not a photograph.

Commissioned for Worlds Beyond using image generation. Appearance is interpretive. Image policy and credits.

NASA Exoplanet Archive · Planetary Systems Composite Parameters (PSCompPars).

Open the scientific archive record ↗

Last changed in this atlas: 04/10/2026, 11:39:41. Read our methodology.

Spotted something wrong? Report an error ↗

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