National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Half-Hot, Half-Cold Planets Have Supersonic Jet Streams


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

The gas giant HD 149026b (seen above in an artist's rendering) is the hottest planet observed so far in the universe.

Another Jupiter-like planet, HD189733b, has heat-carrying, supersonic jet streams that reach speeds of 7,000 miles (11,265 kilometers) per hour, an October 2008 study suggests.

Illustration courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)