WASP 17: A New Planet That Orbits Backward (Retrograde Orbit)
Wide Area Search for Planets 17 (WASP 17) is a new planet recently discovered by scientists that allegedly orbits backward. WASP 17 is, according to reports, 1,000 light-years away from Earth and scientists have estimated its size to be twice that of Jupiter. This makes WASP 17 the largest known planet in the universe, as per record. Space.com has a more detailed report on WASP 17 but we’ll try to summarize important things about this new planet discovered very recently.
What makes WASP 17 a new and an exciting find? First, WASP 17 is a planet that orbits backward (opposite the revolution of the star it revolves around) which astronomers call “retrograde orbit“.
More from the space.com report states that “WASP-17 is about half the mass of Jupiter but bloated to twice its size.“
“This planet is only as dense as expanded polystyrene, 70 times less dense than the planet we’re standing on,” said professor Coel Hellier of Keele University.
The bloated planet can be explained by a highly elliptical orbit, which brings it close to the star and then far away. Like exaggerated tides on Earth, the tidal effects on WASP-17 heat and stretch the planet, the researchers suggest.
The tides are not a daily affair, however. “Instead it’s creating a huge amount of friction on the inside of the planet and generating a lot of energy, which might be making the planet big and puffy,” Seager said.
WASP-17 is the 17th extrasolar planet found by the WASP project, which monitors hundreds of thousands of stars, watching for small dips in their light when a planet transits in front of them. NASA’s Kepler space observatory is using the same technique to search for Earth-like worlds.
There are some theories revolving around this backward orbit phenomenon such as the “close encounter theory”. For now, astronomers are baffled by this rare characteristic of the WASP 17, a new planet discovered that is really going to hit the news worldwide for its uncommon orbit. It’s perhaps going to be the topic of many scientific debates over the next 10-20 years.
On the other hand, if you are interested in meteors, why not head on to our article on Perseid Meteor Shower 2009 and see more of our universe in a new light? 
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i’ve read about the news on WASP 17 (or WASP 17b)…. whatever… it never ceases to amaze me knowing how wonderful objects in outer space are. science is really stranger than fiction. who would’ve thought WASP-17 would orbit opposite its mother star. really freaking inexplicable!
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