Extreme supersonic winds batter this peculiar exoplanet.

Astronomers have made a fascinating discovery related to the exoplanet WASP-127b, a gas giant located approximately 520 light-years from Earth. This planet, which is larger than Jupiter but has less than one-fifth of its mass, is one of the least dense ever found, making it a peculiar subject of study. Recently, supersonic winds have been observed in its atmosphere, reaching speeds of up to 20,000 miles per hour (32,000 km/h), an unprecedented record in the universe.

The research team, using the Very Large Telescope from the European Southern Observatory, was able to detect these extreme winds by analyzing the movement of the planet's atmosphere. According to Lisa Nortmann, the principal investigator from the University of Göttingen, part of the atmosphere is moving toward us at high speed, while another part is moving away at the same speed. This signal indicates the existence of a jet stream that encircles the planet's equator, with winds moving six times faster than the planet’s rotation.

It is suggested that the "tidally locked" characteristic of WASP-127b, where one side is always exposed to its star while the other remains in darkness, contributes to the remarkable temperature difference between the two hemispheres, thereby generating these intense winds. Interestingly, it has also been found that the poles of the planet are colder than the rest of its surface, suggesting complex weather patterns, similar to those on Earth.

Researchers are planning to use more advanced telescopes, such as the future Extremely Large Telescope, to continue exploring the climate of this exoplanet and to look for finer details in the wind patterns, as well as to extend this research to smaller, rocky planets in the future. The research has been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.