WASP-103b: First exoplanet with the shape of a rugby ball

Observations made by Cheops spatial telescope of the European Space Agency discovered an exoplanet that has an appearance similar to that of a rugby ball. It is called WASP-103b, and it is considered the first oval-shaped exoplanet that is discovered. According to the researchers, it is located in the Hercules constellation and it took that shape because it got deformed by the strong tidal forces between the planet and its host star WASP-103, which is 1.7 times bigger and 200 degrees hotter than the Sun. 'It's incredible that Cheops was actually able to reveal this tiny deformation,' says Jacques Laskar of Paris Observatory, one of the responsible for the investigation. 'This is the first time such analysis has been made, and we can hope that observing over a longer time interval will strengthen this observation and lead to better knowledge of the planet's internal structure.' On the Earth, the tides in the oceans are principally the result of the mild pulls that happen while the Moon orbits our planet. The same thing happens with the Sun too, however, its long distance from the Earth prevents it from causing significant deformations in the earth's surface. Wasp-103b has almost double the size of Jupiter and its mass is 1.5 times bigger. Moreover, it orbits its host star within less than a day. According to the astronomers, this kind of proximity might provoke enormous tides, which deform the exoplanet and cause it to have its characteristic spread-out shape. Now, the people in charge of this discovery hope to continue unveiling more features about the unique exoplanet, and for this reason, they expect especially to utilize the information that the spatial telescope James Webb might collect.