Astronomers have recorded wind speeds of over 30,000 kilometres per hour on the planet WASP-127b, surpassing the previous record held by Neptune, according to a report released on Tuesday by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
Discovered in 2016, WASP-127b is an exoplanet, i.e. it is outside our solar system. It is located over 500 light-years from Earth.
WASP-127b is larger than Jupiter but has a significantly lower density.
Using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, astronomers observed the planet in detail. By measuring how starlight passes through WASP-127b’s upper atmosphere with a spectrograph, they detected water vapour and carbon monoxide molecules. Wind speeds were recorded at nearly 33,000 kilometres per hour, far exceeding Neptune’s record of 1,800 kilometres per hour.
"Part of the atmosphere of this planet is moving towards us at a high velocity while another part is moving away from us at the same speed," said lead researcher Lisa Nortmann.
The study also discovered that WASP-127b has poles that are colder than the rest of the planet. There is also a slight temperature difference between the planet’s morning and evening sides.
“This indicates that the planet has complex climatic regimes, similar to Earth and other planets in our solar system,” noted Fei Yan, co-author of the study.
