High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! HIP 13044 is a red horizontal branch star about 2,300 light years (700 pc) away from the Earth in the constellation Fornax. The star is part of the Helmi stream, a former dwarf galaxy that merged with the Milky Way between six and nine billion years ago. As a result, HIP 13044 circles the galactic center at a highly irregular orbit with respect to the galactic plane. HIP 13044 is slightly less massive than the Sun, but is approximately seven times its size. The star, which is estimated to be at least nine billion years old, has passed the red giant phase. One planet, a Hot Jupiter that has been designated HIP 13044 b, has been discovered in the orbit of HIP 13044. There is evidence that other planets may have been present, but these planets were engulfed, a possible cause for HIP 13044`s high rotational speed. At the time of its discovery, HIP 13044 was the most metal-poor exoplanetary host star discovered.