Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery on a distant exoplanet, WASP-127b, located over 500 light-years from Earth. For the first time, supersonic winds have been measured on a planet outside our solar system.
These winds, traveling at speeds up to 33,000 kilometers per hour (20,500 miles per hour), are the fastest ever recorded in a planetary jet stream.
Winds on WASP-127b Move at Six Times the Speed of Planet's Rotation
The winds on WASP-127b move at nearly six times the speed of the planet's rotation, which is an extraordinary finding. "This is something we haven't seen before," said Lisa Nortmann, the lead scientist from the University of Göttingen, Germany.
According to Gizmodo, the team used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile to observe this unusual phenomenon.
WASP-127b is a gas giant slightly larger than Jupiter but much less dense, making it appear puffy.
The planet takes only about four days to orbit its star, a yellow dwarf. For years, scientists have been studying its weather patterns, and this new discovery has provided fresh insights into the planet's extreme atmospheric conditions.
Study Shows WASP-127b Has Two Opposing Winds and Complex Weather
The team measured how light from the host star passed through the planet's atmosphere, revealing the presence of water vapor and carbon monoxide.
However, when they studied the speed of these gases, they noticed something unexpected: the atmosphere was moving in two opposite directions at high speeds. This confirmed the presence of the powerful supersonic winds at the planet's equator.
In addition to the wind findings, the study also revealed that WASP-127b's poles are cooler than the rest of the planet, PhysOrg reported.
The planet also experiences slight temperature differences between its morning and evening sides, much like Earth. "This shows that the planet has complex weather patterns just like Earth," said Fei Yan, co-author of the study.
