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A remarkable achievement in space exploration has occurred: scientists have created a three-dimensional map of the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time.
The planet in focus presents an extraordinary environment, featuring powerful winds that disperse chemical elements in complex patterns throughout its atmosphere. It hosts a massive jet stream that spans half of its surface, stirring up the atmosphere above the side perpetually facing its sun.
Researchers assert that this new 3D understanding of the planet marks a significant milestone in our comprehension of atmospheric conditions and weather patterns beyond Earth. However, they note that it also challenges our current perceptions of meteorological phenomena, as the findings are rather unconventional.
“The behavior of this planet’s atmosphere defies our conventional understanding of weather on Earth and beyond. It seems almost like something out of a science fiction novel,” stated Julia Victoria Seidel, a researcher at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile and the lead author of the study.
This exoplanet, known as WASP-121b or Tylos, is located approximately 900 light-years away and is classified as an ultra-hot Jupiter due to its proximity to its star, where one year on the planet is equivalent to just 30 hours on Earth.
Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers were astonished by their discoveries regarding WASP-121b’s atmospheric conditions.
“We observed a jet stream rotating material around the planet’s equator, while a separate lower-level flow transports gas from the hotter side to the cooler side. Such a climatic pattern has never been recorded before on any planet,” Dr. Seidel explained. “Even the most intense hurricanes within our Solar System appear tame in comparison.”
Additionally, scientists uncovered the presence of titanium in the jet stream — a finding that contradicted prior observations which suggested its absence, indicating it may have been concealed within the atmosphere.
“It’s astonishing to be able to analyze details like the chemical composition and weather dynamics of a celestial body so far away,” remarked Bibiana Prinoth, a PhD candidate at Lund University in Sweden and ESO, who led a related study.
The findings are detailed in a new research paper titled ‘Vertical structure of an exoplanet’s atmospheric jet stream’, published in *Nature*. A related paper focusing on titanium, titled ‘Titanium chemistry of WASP-121 b with ESPRESSO in 4-UT mode’, has been published in *Astronomy & Astrophysics*.
