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Scientists have detected ‘supersonic winds’ travelling at a speed of 33,000 km per hour on a giant gaseous planet named WASP-127b. If such extreme weather occurred on Earth, it would make life nearly impossible
The winds on WASP-127b are travelling at a staggering speed of 9 kilometres per second, which is 130 times faster than the limit of a Category 5 hurricane. (News18 Hindi)
The most powerful winds on Earth have been recorded at a speed of 407 km per hour. However, scientists have now detected a storm with winds moving at an astonishing speed of 33,000 km per hour.
Astronomers have observed a ‘supersonic jet stream’ on an exoplanet located outside our solar system. These winds are the fastest ever recorded in space. According to scientists, if such extreme weather occurred on Earth, it would make life nearly impossible.
The exoplanet, WASP-127b, is located 500 light-years away from Earth. It is a giant gaseous planet slightly larger than Jupiter but with a lower mass.
Discovered in 2016, WASP-127b has a large band of strong winds at its equator, resembling the stripes seen on the gaseous planets of our solar system. Until recently, the speed of these winds remained a mystery. On January 21, a study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics revealed the wind speeds. Using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, scientists measured these winds’ speed.
Wind Speeds Of 9 Kilometres Per Second
The lead author of the study, astrophysicist Lisa Nortmann from the University of Gottingen, Germany, explained: “Part of the planet’s atmosphere is moving towards us at a very high speed, while another part is moving away at the same speed. This indicates the presence of a very fast jet stream on the planet’s equator.”
The winds on WASP-127b travel at a staggering speed of 9 kilometres per second, which is 130 times faster than the limit of a Category 5 hurricane.
According to NASA, these winds are approximately 18 times faster than the jet streams on Neptune, which can reach up to 1,800 km per hour, making them the fastest winds recorded in our solar system.
Planet’s Temperature
By analysing light passing through the atmosphere of WASP-127b, researchers determined the composition of its clouds, finding both water vapour and carbon dioxide present in the swirling masses. While these compounds are associated with life on Earth, the planet’s extreme conditions make it uninhabitable.
Temperature data collected by the VLT revealed that WASP-127b’s polar regions are cooler than the rest of the planet, with only a slight difference between its day and night temperatures. Currently, only ground-based telescopes like the VLT can measure wind speeds on such distant planets.
