. 24/7 Space News .
EXO WORLDS
5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system
by Staff Writers
Warwick, UK (SPX) Nov 17, 2015


HD 189733b is one of the most studied of a class of planets known as 'Hot Jupiters'. At over 10% larger than Jupiter, but 180x closer to its star, HD 189733b has a temperature of 1800'C.

Winds of over 2km per second have been discovered flowing around planet outside of the Earth's solar system, new research has found. The University of Warwick discovery is the first time that a weather system on a planet outside of Earth's solar system has been directly measured and mapped. The wind speed recorded is 20x greater than the fastest ever known on earth, where it would be seven times the speed of sound.

Commenting on the discovery lead researcher Tom Louden, of the University of Warwick's Astrophysics group, said: "This is the first ever weather map from outside of our solar system. Whilst we have previously known of wind on exoplanets, we have never before been able to directly measure and map a weather system."

Discovered on the exoplanet HD 189733b, the Warwick researchers measured the velocities on the two sides of HD 189733b and found a strong wing moving at over 5400mph blowing from its dayside to its night side. Mr Louden explains: "HD 189733b's velocity was measured using high resolution spectroscopy of the Sodium absorption featured in its atmosphere. As parts of HD 189733b's atmosphere move towards or away from the Earth the Doppler effect changes the wavelength of this feature, which allows the velocity to be measured".

Explaining how this information was used to measure velocity Mr Louden says: "The surface of the star is brighter at the centre than it is at the edge, so as the planet moves in front of the star the relative amount of light blocked by different parts of the atmosphere changes. For the first time we've used this information to measure the velocities on opposite sides of the planet independently, which gives us our velocity map."

The researchers say that the techniques used could help the study of Earth-like planets. Co-researcher, Dr Peter Wheatley of the University of Warwick's Astrophysics Group explains: "We are tremendously excited to have found a way to map weather systems on distant planets. As we develop the technique further we will be able to study wind flows in increasing detail and make weather maps of smaller planets. Ultimately this technique will allow us to image the weather systems on Earth-like planets. "

HD 189733b is one of the most studied of a class of planets known as 'Hot Jupiters'. At over 10% larger than Jupiter, but 180x closer to its star, HD 189733b has a temperature of 1800'C.

Its size and relatively closeness to our solar system make it a popular target for astronomers. Past research has shown that the day side of the planet would appear a bright shade of blue to the human eye, probably due to clouds of silicate particles high in its atmosphere.

The data was collected by HARPS, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, in La Silla, Chile.

The research, Spatially resolved eastward winds and rotation of HD 189733b, is published by The Astronomical Journal Letters.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Warwick
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
EXO WORLDS
Astronomers eager to get a whiff of newfound Venus-like planet
Boston MA (SPX) Nov 15, 2015
The collection of rocky planets orbiting distant stars has just grown by one, and the latest discovery is the most intriguing one to date. The newfound world, although hot as an oven, is cool enough to potentially host an atmosphere. If it does, it's close enough (only 39 light-years away) that we could study that atmosphere in detail with the Hubble Space Telescope and future observatories like ... read more


EXO WORLDS
Gaia's sensors scan a lunar transit

SwRI scientists explain why moon rocks contain fewer volatiles than Earth's

All-female Russian crew starts Moon mission test

Russian moon mission would need 4 Angara-A5V launches

EXO WORLDS
Upgrade Helps NASA Study Mineral Veins on Mars

Dust devils detected by seismometer could guide Mars mission

Amnesia Event Slows Down Opportunity Robotic Arm Work

Swiss Camera Leaves for Mars

EXO WORLDS
Orion's European module ready for testing

General Dynamics demos SGSS Command and Control Infrastructure for NASA

Orion Service Module Stacking Assembly Secured For Flight

Global partnerships in orbit support economic growth on and off the Earth

EXO WORLDS
China to launch Dark Matter Satellite in mid-December

China to better integrate satellite applications with Internet

China's satellite expo opens

New rocket readies for liftoff in 2016

EXO WORLDS
Space station power short circuits, system repairs needed

Cygnus Starts Final Round of Processing for Station Cargo Delivery

US astronauts dodge ammonia on risky spacewalk

UK astronaut dreams of heavenly Christmas pudding

EXO WORLDS
Recycled power plant equipment bolsters ULA in its energy efficiency

Purchase of building at Ellington a key step in Houston Spaceport development plans

More launches ahead for UH's Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory

LISA Pathfinder topped off for Vega launch that will test Relativity

EXO WORLDS
Rocket Scientists to Launch Planet-Finding Telescope

5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system

New exoplanet in our neighborhood

Asteroid ripped apart to form star's glowing ring system

EXO WORLDS
Computers tackle one of chemistry's greatest challenges

Conducting gels - from waste to wealth

Lockheed Martin introduces Digital Array Row Transceiver

Lasers could rapidly make materials hotter than the Sun









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.