WASP-120b, WASP-122b and WASP-123b: Three newly discovered planets from the WASP-South survey

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of three new exoplanets from the WASP-South survey, detailing their characteristics, orbits, and potential for atmospheric study, expanding knowledge of hot Jupiters and eccentric planetary systems.

Contribution

The paper introduces three newly discovered exoplanets with detailed characterization, including orbital parameters and atmospheric prospects, from the WASP-South survey.

Findings

WASP-120b is a massive, likely eccentric planet in a 3.6-day orbit.

WASP-122b is a hot-Jupiter suitable for atmospheric characterization.

WASP-123b is a hot-Jupiter orbiting an old G5 star.

Abstract

We present the discovery by the WASP-South survey of three planets transiting moderately bright stars (V ~ 11). WASP-120b is a massive (5.0MJup) planet in a 3.6-day orbit that we find likely to be eccentric (e = 0.059+0.025-0.018) around an F5 star. WASP-122b is a hot-Jupiter (1.37MJup, 1.79RJup) in a 1.7-day orbit about a G4 star. Our predicted transit depth variation cause by the atmosphere of WASP-122b suggests it is well suited to characterisation. WASP-123b is a hot-Jupiter (0.92MJup, 1.33RJup) in a 3.0-day orbit around an old (~ 7 Gyr) G5 star.