TrES-4b is an extrasolar planet, and one of the largest exoplanets ever found. It was discovered in 2006, and announced in 2007, by the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey, using the transit method. It is approximately 1,400 light-years (430 pc) away orbiting the star GSC 02620-00648, in the constellation Hercules.

Orbit

A 2008 study concluded that the GSC 06200-00648 system (among others) is a binary star system allowing even more accurate determination of stellar and planetary parameters.

TrES-4 orbits its primary star every 3.543 days and eclipses it when viewed from Earth.

The study in 2012, utilizing a Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, have determined the planetary orbit is probably aligned with the equatorial plane of the star, misalignment equal to 6.3±4.7°.

Physical characteristics

The planet is slightly less massive than Jupiter (0.919 ± 0.073 M_J) but its diameter is 79.9% larger; it was considered the largest planet ever found at the time, giving it an average density of only about a third of a gram per cubic centimetre, approximately the same as Saturn's moon Methone. This made TrES-4b both the largest-known planet and the planet with the lowest-known density at the time of its discovery.

TrES-4b's orbital radius is 0.05091 AU, giving it a predicted surface temperature of about 1,782 K (1,509 °C; 2,748 °F). This by itself is not enough to explain the planet's low density, however. It is not currently known why TrES-4b is so large. The probable causes are the proximity to a parent star that is three to four times more luminous than the Sun as well as the internal heat within the planet.

See also

• List of exoplanet extremes
• WASP-17b, another large exoplanet