Astronomers Measure 33,000 km/h Jet on WASP-127b, Probing Weather 520 Light-Years Away
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 24
Astronomers Measure 33,000 km/h Jet on WASP-127b, Probing Weather 520 Light-Years Away
2 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 24
Summary
WASP-127b’s equatorial atmosphere was measured at up to 33,000 km/h, with a more direct Doppler split indicating a 7.7 km-per-second jet and model-based retrievals pushing the flow near 9 km/s.
CRIRES+ on ESO’s Very Large Telescope captured one transit and found water-vapor and carbon-monoxide signals split into two peaks—one approaching, one receding—interpreted as opposite limbs of an eastward superrotating jet.
The puffy gas giant, 1.31 times Jupiter’s radius but only 0.165 Jupiter masses, is unusually favorable for transit spectroscopy because its broad, low-density atmosphere imprints stronger molecular fingerprints on starlight.
The result matters less as a wind-speed record—it was surpassed within four weeks by WASP-121b—than as a demonstration that Doppler spectroscopy can separate equator, limbs and possible polar differences on an unresolved exoplanet.
What terrifying atmospheric forces drive perpetual 33,000 km/h hurricanes on a bloated exoplanet where water vapour is literally torn apart?
Could unseen magnetic fields be the only thing stopping 33,000 km/h winds from tearing apart the atmospheres of distant gas giants?
How do scientists map the violent, supersonic storms of a world 520 light-years away without ever actually seeing its surface?
Record-Breaking Jet Stream on WASP-127b: How Astronomers Measured 33,000 km/h Winds Across Light-Years
Overview
WASP-127b, a puffy gas giant orbiting extremely close to its star, is tidally locked so that one side always faces the star while the other remains in darkness. This creates a huge temperature difference, driving violent winds across the planet. Because WASP-127b has no solid surface, there is no friction to slow these winds, allowing a supersonic jet stream to form at the equator, reaching speeds of about 33,000 km/h. Astronomers detected this jet stream by observing starlight filtering through the planet’s atmosphere during transit, using Doppler shifts and a double-peak spectral signal to confirm the extreme wind speeds.