Q2348112

HAT-P-33b is a planet in the orbit of HAT-P-33, which lies 1,310 light years away from Earth. Its discovery was reported in June 2011, although it was suspected to be a planet as early as 2004. The planet is about three-fourths the mass of Jupiter, but is almost eighty percent larger than Jupiter is; this inflation has, as with the discovery of similar planets WASP-17b and HAT-P-32b, raised the question of what (other than temperature) causes these planets to become so large.

HAT-P-33b was difficult to confirm because its star experiences high jitter, which disrupted the ability to obtain accurate measurements. As such, a greater number of radial velocity observations were collected to make the confirmation, although it was later determined that HAT-P-33b could not be determined using the radial velocity method. The planet's confirmation came about after the planet's light curve was collected, and the Blendanal process ruled out most false positive scenarios.