As our understanding and technology have increased over decades, we’ve gained significant insights into the climatic and atmospheric systems of not only our own planet, but others in our solar system.

We’ve learned that Mars is the only planet in our solar system that could be habitable, thanks to its temperature and the historic presence of water. We’ve learned about the swirling storms that make up Jupiter’s atmosphere, and the wild winds and temperatures on Neptune.

But now, for the first time, scientists have looked beyond our Solar System to map climate, atmosphere and weather systems for a planet over 900 light-years away.

Known as WASP-121b, or Tylos, this planet is located in a constellation known as Puppis. And watching and measuring the weather on Tylos has given scientists some fascinating insights into atmospheric conditions on alien planets.

In a study that has been recently published in the journal Nature, the scientists from the European Southern Observatory (ETO) used their Very Large Telescope (VLT) to observe the planet and its weather system. Then, using an instrument on the VLT known as ESPRESSO, they were able to combine its multiple telescopic units into one signal, meaning that more powerful light was shed on the exoplanet.

The team followed Tylos for a complete orbit of its host star, with the light helping them to detect chemical elements in the planet’s atmosphere and map the weather accordingly, as the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Leonardo A. dos Santos explained in an ESO statement:

“The VLT enabled us to probe three different layers of the exoplanet’s atmosphere in one fell swoop. It’s the kind of observation that is very challenging to do with space telescopes, highlighting the importance of ground-based observations of exoplanets.”

And what did the researchers find? Well, firstly that powerful winds that made up the planet’s atmosphere carried elements like iron and titanium, which comprised some surprising weather patterns.

On the gas giant, whose proximity to the host star means that it constantly has one very hot and one much cooler side, separate layers of winds blow, with an aggressive jet stream the result. As the ESO’s Julia Victoria Seidel explains in the statement, these conditions are unusual to say the least:

“What we found was surprising: a jet stream rotates material around the planet’s equator, while a separate flow at lower levels of the atmosphere moves gas from the hot side to the cooler side. This kind of climate has never been seen before on any planet. Even the strongest hurricanes in the Solar System seem calm in comparison.”

Though Tylos is far away from us – and definitely not a contender for life or another home planet – our understanding of its climate and atmosphere are incredibly valuable. And as researchers continue to develop the tools to understand the weather systems of other, smaller planets too, our leading scientific and meteorological minds gain more and more information to help with our Earthly pursuits.

As well as that, this knowledge is also extremely cool, as Seidel continued:

“This planet’s atmosphere behaves in ways that challenge our understanding of how weather works — not just on Earth, but on all planets. It feels like something out of science fiction.”

The more we learn, and the more that our giant telescopes are developed and modified, the closer we come to a full understanding of life – both inside our solar system, and beyond.

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