Scientists have successfully 3D-mapped the atmosphere of a planet far beyond our solar system.
Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile and other institutions examined separate layers of the planet’s atmosphere in 3D by combining multiple telescope units.
The planet in question is called WASP-121b (or Tylos) and it's located around 900 light years away. It's been dubbed the 'ultra-hot Jupiter' because of its extreme temperature differences and volatile climate. And, because the gas giant orbits so close to its star, each year lasts only 30 of Earth's hours.
Using all four units of the ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), researchers discovered powerful winds that transport chemical elements such as iron and titanium. The alien planet involves an intricate system of jet streams carries the elements in complicated, swirling patterns.
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“The VLT enabled us to probe three different layers of the exoplanet’s atmosphere in one fell swoop,” said study co-author Leonardo A. dos Santos, an assistant astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, US.
The finding is unlike anything scientists have seen before, and the team believes that a newfound understanding of the foreign planet's temperature could change how we think about our current weather.
“This planet’s atmosphere behaves in ways that challenge our understanding of how weather works – not just on Earth, but on all planets," said Julia Victoria Seidel, a researcher at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile and lead author of the study, adding that it feels like something out of 'science fiction.'
The planet's unusual climate is driven by a jet stream that 'rotates materials around its equator,' while a separate current shifts gases from the intensely hot side to the cooler side of the atmosphere.
"This kind of climate has never been seen before on any planet,” Dr. Seidel added. “Even the strongest hurricanes in the solar system seem calm in comparison.”
And if the violent, swirling storms and blistering heat weren't enough, the team came across something else - titanium. Previous studies suggested the element wasn’t present, but it turns out, it was hidden deep in the atmospheric layers that only the VLT could find.
“It’s truly mind-blowing that we’re able to study details like the chemical makeup and weather patterns of a planet at such a vast distance,” commented Bibiana Prinoth, a PhD student at Lund University, Sweden.
dos Santos concluded: “It’s the kind of observation that is very challenging to do with space telescopes, highlighting the importance of ground-based observations of exoplanets."