“Beyond science fiction,” astronomers call it: the first 3D observations of the atmosphere of WASP-121b reveal a unique climate and furious currents. “Even the most violent hurricanes in the Solar System seem like a breeze in comparison,” says the first author of the paper published today in Nature, Julia Victoria Seidel of ESO. Co-authors also include two astronomers from INAF, Lorenzo Pino and our astronomer Francesco Borsa – Read the full story on Media INAF
Tylos (or Wasp-121b) is a gas giant located about 900 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis (The Puppis). Using the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, it has been possible to reconstruct its atmosphere in three dimensions for the first time on an exoplanet. It was discovered that it is divided into three layers, with iron winds in the lower part, followed by a very fast jet of sodium and finally an upper layer of hydrogen winds. This type of climate has never been observed before on any planet. Credits: ESO/M. Kornmesser
