WASP-17 is an

F-type main sequence An F-type main-sequence star (F V) is a main-sequence, hydrogen-fusing star of spectral type F and luminosity class V. These stars have from 1.0 to 1.4 times the mass of the Sun and surface temperatures between 6,000 and 7,600 K.Tables VII ...

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

approximately 1,310

light-year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astr ...

s away in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Scorpius Scorpius is a zodiac constellation located in the Southern celestial hemisphere, where it sits near the center of the Milky Way, between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Scorpius is an ancient constellation whose recognition pred ...

. WASP-17 is named Dìwö. The name was selected in the

NameExoWorlds NameExoWorlds (also known as IAU NameExoWorlds) were various projects managed by the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.) to encourage names to be submitted for astronomical objects, notably exoplanets. The accepted names would later be cons ...

campaign by

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, during the 100th anniversary of the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

. Dìwö in Bribri language means the sun. The star, although similar to the Sun in terms of overall contents of heavy elements, is depleted of carbon. The carbon to oxygen molar ratio of 0.18 for WASP-17 is well below the solar ratio of 0.55.

Planetary system

As of 2009, an

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first det ...

has been confirmed to orbit the star. The planet,

WASP-17b WASP-17b, officially named Ditsö̀, is an exoplanet in the constellation Scorpius that is orbiting the star WASP-17. Its discovery was announced on 11 August 2009. It is the first planet discovered to have a retrograde orbit, meaning it orbits ...

, is unusual in that it is believed to orbit in the opposite direction to the star's spin (a

retrograde Retrograde may refer to: Film and television * Retrograde (2004 film), ''Retrograde'' (2004 film), a film by Christopher Kulikowski * Retrograde (2022 American film), ''Retrograde'' (2022 American film), a documentary film by Matthew Heineman * ...

orbit), and is twice the size of Jupiter, but half its mass. The planet is also named Ditsö̀. It is subject to intensive photo-evaporation, and may be completely destroyed within one billion years from now.D. Ehrenreich and J.-M. Désert, "Mass-loss rates for transiting exoplanets", 2011
/ref> The planet was discovered by the

SuperWASP WASP or Wide Angle Search for Planets is an international consortium of several academic organisations performing an ultra-wide angle search for exoplanets using transit photometry. The array of robotic telescopes aims to survey the entire sky ...

project, hence the name.

References

Scorpius F-type main-sequence stars Planetary systems with one confirmed planet Planetary transit variables J15595095-2803422 CD-27 10695 1050 66818296 Dìwö 17 {{main-star-stub