astronomy

WASP-63

WASP-63 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand WASP-63 rather than just read about it. In short: WASP-63, also named Kosjenka, is a single star with an exoplanetary companion in the southern constellation of Columba. It is too faint to be visible with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 11.1.

Key takeaways

WASP-63 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect WASP-63 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WASP-63 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WASP-63, also named Kosjenka, is a single star with an exoplanetary companion in the southern constellation of Columba. It is too faint to be visible with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 11.1. The distance to this system is approximately 942 light-years (289 parsecs) based on parallax measurements, but it is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −24 km/s.

Nomenclature The designation WASP-63 indicates that this was the 63rd star found to have a planet by the Wide Angle Search for Planets. It is also known as CD-38 2551 from the Durchmusterung catalog. In the 2019 NameExoWorlds campaign, this system was assigned to Malawi but did not get named at that time. It was then included among 20 systems to be named by the following NameExoWorlds campaign in August 2022. The approved names, proposed by a team from Croatia, were announced in June 2023. WASP-63 is named Kosjenka and its planet is named Regoč, after characters from Croatian Tales of Long Ago by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić.

Stellar properties This is a G-type star with a stellar classification of G8; the luminosity class is currently unknown. The star is much older than the Sun at approximately 8.3+1.3−1.2 billion years. WASP-63 is slightly enriched in heavy elements, having 120% of the solar abundance of iron. The stellar radius is enlarged for a G8 star, and models suggest it has evolved into a subgiant. It has 1.1 times the mass of the Sun and is spinning with a projected rotational velocity of 3 km/s.

Planetary system In 2012 a transiting gas giant planet WASP-63b was detected on a tight, circular orbit. Its equilibrium temperature is 1,536±37 K, and measured dayside temperature is 1,547±308 K. The planet is similar to Saturn in mass but is highly inflated due to proximity to the parent star. The planetary atmosphere contains water and likely has a high cloud deck of indeterminate composition.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WASP-63

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WASP-63 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to WASP-63 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about WASP-63 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of WASP-63

In research: WASP-63 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses WASP-63 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: WASP-63 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Columba (constellation), Durchmusterung objects, G-type subgiants, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WASP-63 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study WASP-63 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WASP-63 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain WASP-63 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WASP-63 in simple terms?

Why does WASP-63 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study WASP-63?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on WASP-63.