HD 189733

system

HD 189733 is an orange dwarf 64.5 light-years away in Vulpecula, orbited by one of the most intensely studied planets beyond the Solar System: a transiting hot Jupiter whose deep-blue colour and violent weather have been measured directly. Because it is bright, close and transiting, it became a workhorse for reading exoplanet atmospheres.

Open in 3D viewSee HD 189733 in the live, interactive 3D map

Key facts

Type

Orange dwarf + 1 planet

Distance

64.5 light-years

Confirmed planets

Planet

Blue transiting hot Jupiter

Science

Classification

Type: Single orange-dwarf system
Central star: HD 189733 — K2V orange dwarf (~5052 K, 0.79 M☉)

Planets

Confirmed planets: 1 · HD 189733 b, a transiting hot Jupiter
Measured firsts: Temperature map (2007); visible colour — blue (2013)

Distance

Distance: 64.5 light-years · in Vulpecula, the Fox

How we know

Note: One confirmed planet (NASA Exoplanet Archive, checked 2026-07-05). Its deep-blue colour is a REAL measurement — scattered light seen by Hubble in 2013 — not a painted surface; the map shows an honest blue spectral tint, not a fabricated cloudscape. Because it transits, its density is measured. Map distance is symbolic; the real gap is 64.5 light-years.

Discovery & history

Name: A Henry Draper catalogue designation; also V452 Vulpeculae.

The transiting giant was found in 2005; being bright and close, it yielded the first exoplanet temperature map (2007) and colour (blue, Hubble 2013).

Images

Artist's impression of HD 189733 b, whose deep-blue colour was measured by Hubble — an artist's concept, not a photograph. — NASA, ESA & M. Kornmesser (CC BY 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons

NASA 'Galaxy of Horrors' poster for HD 189733 b — 'Rains of Terror'. Stylised Halloween artwork evoking its sideways glass rain, NOT a scientific image of the planet. — NASA/JPL-Caltech (public domain) · Wikimedia Commons

Images from open archives · credit shown per image