WASP-127b
Astronomers have recently made a groundbreaking discovery regarding the extreme winds on WASP-127b, a gas giant located approximately 520 light-years away from Earth in the Milky Way galaxy.
While Earth’s jet stream is known for its fast-moving air at speeds exceeding 275 miles per hour (442 kilometers per hour), it pales in comparison to the winds detected on WASP-127b. The planet’s winds reach astonishing speeds of nearly 20,500 miles per hour (33,000 kilometers per hour), making them the fastest of any known planet.
WASP-127b, a “hot Jupiter,” is an enormous planet that orbits very close to its host star. The supersonic jet-stream winds that encircle the planet’s equator are the fastest planetary winds recorded to date.
These winds have been measured with incredible precision, with the team of scientists attributing the jet stream’s extreme speed to the planet’s intense interaction with its star’s radiation.
The study, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, was led by Lisa Nortmann of the University of Göttingen in Germany. According to Nortmann, the wind velocity observed is surprisingly high, challenging current expectations for planetary wind patterns.
The research team used the CRIRES+ instrument at the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to track the speed of molecules in the planet’s atmosphere.
Their observations relied on the “transit” method, where the planet’s passage in front of its star was used to measure changes in brightness, allowing researchers to study the planet’s atmosphere in greater detail.
WASP-127b’s extreme winds are largely driven by the intense irradiation from its host star, with its atmospheric dynamics also influenced by other complex factors.
The planet’s temperature varies greatly, with its day side being scorched by the star’s radiation, reaching up to 2,060°F (1,400 K), while the night side remains cooler. Its atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, but more complex compounds like carbon monoxide and water have been detected.
This discovery marks an exciting advancement in the study of exoplanet atmospheres, where researchers are now able to move beyond basic observations of global features, such as temperature and chemical composition, to more dynamic studies of wind patterns, temperature changes, and chemical processes across various latitudes and longitudes.
The findings demonstrate how much is still unknown about these distant worlds and the unexpected nature of each new observation.
WASP-127b’s enormous size, combined with its extremely low density, makes it one of the puffiest planets observed, with a diameter 30% larger than Jupiter.
Despite its size, the planet’s mass is only 16% of Jupiter’s, adding another layer of intrigue to its atmospheric characteristics. As researchers continue to investigate, further discoveries will undoubtedly reveal more about the complex systems driving these extraordinary wind speeds on this distant exoplanet.
