WASP-44

WASP-44 is a G-type star about 1,180 light-years (360 parsecs) away in the constellation Cetus that is orbited by the Jupiter-size planet WASP-44b. The star is slightly less massive and slightly smaller than the Sun; it is also slightly cooler, but is more metal-rich. The star was observed by SuperWASP, an organization searching for exoplanets, starting in 2009; manual follow-up observations using WASP-44's spectrum and measurements of its radial velocity led to the discovery of the transiting planet WASP-44b. The planet and its star were presented along with WASP-45b and WASP-46b on May 17, 2011 by a team of scientists testing the idea that hot Jupiters tend to have circular orbits, an assumption that is made when the orbital eccentricity of such planets are not well-constrained.