astronomy

WASP-64

WASP-64 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-64 rather than just read about it. In short: WASP-64, also named Atakoraka, is a star about 1,177 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major. It is a G7 class main-sequence star, orbited by a planet WASP-64b.

Key takeaways

WASP-64 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-64 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WASP-64 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WASP-64, also named Atakoraka, is a star about 1,177 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major. It is a G7 class main-sequence star, orbited by a planet WASP-64b. It is younger than the Sun at 3.6±1.6 billion years, and it has a metal abundance similar to the Sun. The star is rotating rapidly, being spun up by the giant planet in a close orbit. While an imaging survey in 2017 failed to find any stellar companions, a 2019 survey using Gaia DR2 data found WASP-64 to be the secondary component of a double star system, with a wide separation of 24.2 arcseconds or 9,058 AU. The primary star is designated TYC 7091-1288-1, and can also be called WASP-64 A, with the planet host being WASP-64 B. Although the stars share a similar distance and common proper motion, their relative space velocity appears to be high enough that the pair are not gravitationally bound.

Nomenclature The designation WASP-64 comes from the Wide Angle Search for Planets. This was one of the systems selected to be named in the 2019 NameExoWorlds campaign during the 100th anniversary of the IAU, which assigned each country a star and planet to be named. This system was assigned to Togo. The approved names were Atakoraka for the star after the Atacora, the largest mountain range in Togo, and Agouto for the planet after Mount Agou, the highest mountain in Togo.

Planetary system A transiting hot Jupiter exoplanet orbiting WASP-64 was discovered by WASP in 2012. The planetary equilibrium temperature is 1672+59−63 K, while the measured dayside temperature is hotter at 1989+87−88 K. Due to the close proximity of the planet to the parent star, orbital decay of WASP-64b, along with HATS-2, may be detectable in the near future. WASP-64b was named Agouto (after Mount Agou, the highest point of Togo which lies within the Atacora chain) in 2019 by amateur astronomers from Togo as part of the NameExoWorlds contest.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WASP-64

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WASP-64 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-64 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-64 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-64

In research: WASP-64 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-64 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-64 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Canis Major, G-type main-sequence stars, Planetary systems with one confirmed planet, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WASP-64 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-64 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WASP-64 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-64 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WASP-64 in simple terms?

WASP-64, also named Atakoraka, is a star about 1,177 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major. It is a G7 class main-sequence star, orbited by a planet WASP-64b.

Why does WASP-64 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-64?

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-64.