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Earth's strongest winds wouldn't even be a breeze on these planets
University of Washington Office of News and Information ^
| January 9, 2007
| Vince Stricherz
Posted on 01/10/2007 6:53:45 AM PST by SunkenCiv
New measurements for three planets outside our solar system indicate their temperatures remain fairly constant -- and blazing hot -- from day to night, even though it is likely one side of each planet always faces its sun and the other is in permanent darkness. The reason apparently is supersonic winds, perhaps as strong as 9,000 miles an hour, that constantly churn the planets' atmospheres and keep temperatures on the dark side from plunging. The planets, gas giants similar in size to Jupiter, were discovered in the last decade orbiting stars about the same size as our sun and less than 150 light years from Earth. All of them orbit within about 5 million miles of their stars, far less than Mercury's distance from our sun... The three planets are 51 Pegasi, about 50 light years from our sun, HD179949b about 100 light years distant, and HD209458b about 147 light years away.
(Excerpt) Read more at uwnews.washington.edu ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: xplanets
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt -- An artist's conception shows a gas-giant planet orbiting very close to its parent star, creating searingly hot conditions on the planet's surface. New research suggests that for three such planets lying from 50 to 150 light-years from Earth, strong winds thousands of miles per hour mix the atmosphere so that the temperature is relatively uniform from the permanently light side to the permanently dark side. This illustration represents an infrared view of a planetary system, in which brightness indicates warmer temperatures. For example, the bright band around the equator of the planet denotes warmer temperatures on both the dark and sunlit sides. The planet's poles, shown in darker colors, would be cooler.
1
posted on
01/10/2007 6:53:46 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
2
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01/10/2007 6:59:10 AM PST
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SunkenCiv
("I've learned to live with not knowing." -- Richard Feynman https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: SunkenCiv
Remind me to get the hair spray contract when there's settlements.
3
posted on
01/10/2007 6:59:15 AM PST
by
mtbopfuyn
(I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
To: annie laurie; garbageseeker; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; mikrofon; ...
4
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01/10/2007 6:59:35 AM PST
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SunkenCiv
("I've learned to live with not knowing." -- Richard Feynman https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
5
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01/10/2007 7:14:35 AM PST
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SunkenCiv
("I've learned to live with not knowing." -- Richard Feynman https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: mtbopfuyn
6
posted on
01/10/2007 7:16:53 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
("I've learned to live with not knowing." -- Richard Feynman https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: 75thOVI; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; Avoiding_Sulla; BenLurkin; Berosus; Brujo; CGVet58; Chani; ..
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posted on
01/10/2007 7:17:45 AM PST
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SunkenCiv
("I've learned to live with not knowing." -- Richard Feynman https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: SunkenCiv
The big star will soon feed on the little planet...
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
9
posted on
01/10/2007 10:05:47 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
("I've learned to live with not knowing." -- Richard Feynman https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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