Astronomers have discovered the fastest winds ever measured on a planet, located on an exoplanet called WASP-127b. These winds travel at supersonic speeds, reaching up to 20,500 miles per hour (33,000 kilometers per hour). The discovery, made using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), provides new insight into extreme weather phenomena on other worlds.
The farthest planet from the Sun, Neptune, is the windiest place in the solar system, with winds that whip through at speeds reaching more than 0.3 miles per second . That’s a relatively pleasant wind speed compared to a giant, puffy planet located around 500 lightyears away from Earth.
Using European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, a team of astronomers measured the extremely powerful winds that are raging on the equator of WASP-127b. At speeds of up to 20,500 miles per hour , the jet winds move at nearly six times the speed at which the planet rotates, according to aAn animated visual of the exoplanet reveals a gnarly scene as the winds pummel the equator of WASP-127b with extreme ferocity.
Ever since its discovery, scientists have been probing the planet to learn more about its weather patterns. The team behind the new study used VLT to trace the planet’s composition by measuring how the light of its host star travels through its upper atmosphere. The results revealed the presence of water vapor and carbon monoxide molecules in the planet’s atmosphere.
EXTRAPLANETS WINDS SUPERSONIC ATMOSPHERE WEATHER
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