AssetID: 54450402
Headline: Supersonic Winds Discovered On Giant Planet 520 Light Years From Earth
Caption: **VIDEO AVAILABLE: CONTACT INFO@COVERMG.COM TO RECEIVE** Astronomers have uncovered extraordinary weather patterns on WASP-127b, a giant gas planet located over 520 light-years from Earth, with supersonic jet winds racing around its equator at a staggering speed of 33,000 km/h (9 km per second). This discovery, made using the CRIRES+ instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile, marks the fastest jetstream ever recorded on a planet. By tracking the movement of molecules in the planet’s atmosphere, researchers observed that one side of the atmosphere is moving towards Earth while the other is moving away at an equally high velocity. This phenomenon indicates the presence of an exceptionally powerful wind current encircling the planet’s equator. WASP-127b, discovered in 2016, is slightly larger than Jupiter but far less dense, giving it a ‘puffy’ appearance. “These supersonic winds are unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Dr Lisa Nortmann of the University of Göttingen, Germany, and lead author of the study. “The signal from the atmosphere reveals a jet wind around the equator moving at nearly six times the speed of the planet’s rotation.” In comparison, the fastest wind measured in the Solar System, on Neptune, reaches a comparatively modest 1,800 km/h. The research, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, also revealed the planet’s atmospheric composition, including water vapour and carbon monoxide, by analysing how starlight passes through its upper atmosphere. This data allowed scientists to map its weather in unprecedented detail. Alongside the jetstream, the team found cooler polar regions and subtle temperature differences between the morning and evening sides of the planet, indicating a complex weather system akin to those on planets in our Solar System. “Understanding such dynamic systems helps us explore heat redistribution and chemical processes on exoplanets, shedding light on planet formation and the origins of our own Solar System,” said Dr David Cont of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, and a co-author of the study. The findings underscore the rapid advancements in exoplanet research. Previously, astronomers could only measure an exoplanet’s mass and radius. Today, with ground-based observatories like ESO’s VLT, scientists can probe distant atmospheres and map weather patterns on planets hundreds of light-years away. Future instruments, such as the ANDES spectrograph on ESO’s upcoming Extremely Large Telescope, are expected to provide even greater precision, enabling the study of smaller, rocky planets. “This means we will soon be able to resolve even finer details of wind patterns and extend our research to Earth-like planets,” added Nortmann. The discovery of such extreme weather on WASP-127b is not only a milestone in exoplanet science but also a testament to the power of modern astronomical instruments to explore the vast diversity of worlds beyond our Solar System.
Keywords: feature, space, esa, science, astronomy, feature, photo, video
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