First Study with CHEOPS Data

(University of Geneva, September 28, 2020)

Eight months after the space telescope CHEOPS started its journey into space, the first scientific publication using data from CHEOPS has been issued, revealing details of the exoplanet WASP-189b – one of the most extreme planets known. According to Monika Lendl, lead author of the study from the University of Geneva,“WASP-189b is especially interesting because it is a gas giant that orbits very close to its host star” – which is one of the hottest stars known to have a planetary system – and because it has a permanent day and night side, which means that its climate is completely different from that of the gas giants in our solar system. Based on the observations using CHEOPS, the researchers estimate the temperature of WASP-189b to be 3,200 degrees Celsius.