First Map of an Extrasolar Planet

jiawen writes "Data from the Spitzer Space Telescope has been used by researchers to make the first-ever map of an extrasolar planet. It's a weather map, more precisely, showing temperature variations over the surface of a Hot Jupiter. It really is hot: even the coldest regions are about 1200 degrees F."

Comments

but can I view it

[froggero1]

on google maps?

1200 degrees F?

[PontifexPrimus]

So, how much is that in real temperature? Like, 35 degrees C or something?

Re:1200 degrees F?

[Anonymous Coward]

The only real temperature is Kelvin (which admittetly is based on Celcius which makes a lot more sense than the screwed-up Fahrenheit scale imho :)
1 200 degrees Fahrenheit = 922.038889 kelvin

Re:1200 degrees F?

[Timesprout]

Or factor 2,976,243,345 for those of you with red hair.

Re:1200 degrees F?

[Jeremy Erwin]

Minimum 973 K +/- 33 K
Maximum 1211 K +/- 11 K

That's 1751 +/-59 R and 2171 +/-20 R, for you non SI types. Subtract 459 degrees to get Fahrenheit.

Re:1200 degrees F?

[teh kurisu]

I disagree. For weather purposes, having the freezing point of water at 0 is more useful, both because freezing temperatures make a substantial difference to human behaviour, and because it is the same worldwide. I live in what would be described as a temperate area, and temperatures here have never reached 100F and rarely dip as low as 0F, so the Fahrenheit scale is less useful.

Amazing that this is possible at all

[Phrogman]

It doesn't seem all that long ago that scientists were merely *inferring* the presence of planets in other solar systems, now we are able to derive a map of one from IR data? Thats an amazing amount of progress for so short a time period. It would be interesting to know how far away this system is, and how large the planet is. If that data was in the article I seem to have missed it...

Re:Amazing that this is possible at all

[Jugalator]

Yes, it's the most interesting area of space exploration now, and imagine where we'll be if the Kepler mission is successful and don't get further pushed ahead in time by budget cuts.

Re:Amazing that this is possible at all

[notabaggins]

It doesn't seem all that long ago that scientists were merely *inferring* the presence of planets in other solar systems, now we are able to derive a map of one from IR data? Thats an amazing amount of progress for so short a time period.

More than that, it hasn't been all that long since we were debating how common extra-solar planets might be as we had no data at all. For that matter, it's been all of 77 years since the discovery of Pluto, roughly the range of a human lifespan.

Maybe it's me but, some days, you just have to sit back and think... wow...

Re:Amazing that this is possible at all

[jd]

Once the square kilometer array has been constructed, we will be able to get maps of this level of detail on Earth-sized planets at 1 AU from its sun at distances of around 50 light-years or so. If they made it a square mile, they could do the same at a distance of 100 light-years.

Oh, one small correction. We'd be able to get continuous maps. In other words, you'd be able to see temperature (and atmosphere composition) changes over time.

(At that point, something like SETI would get potentially much less of an intragalactic lottery and be much more interesting.)

I honestly don't know what resolution the NASA folks are working at, but the image presented is almost certainly some form of interpolation from available data, as even a super-Jovian planet is far too small to get more than a pixel or two resolution at any distance. I don't quite know what they're calculating, rather than directly observing, but there is simply no way they're getting that kind of resolution with direct measurement. Not of a planet.

There's nothing wrong with mathematical techniques, and if they're as good as they seem to be, then obviously the square kilometer array will be able to resolve Earth-sized planets at greater resolution than initially expected. Which is good, so long as the methods applied are valid.

(Let's face it - if anyone quibbles with these results, who do you think NASA would send over there to personally check? The person getting fame and glory for the organisation, or the person who is spoiling the party?)

Get the paper here

[Ambitwistor]

You can read a preprint of the published paper for free. (The published version is here, but full text access requires a Nature subscription.)

For all the non-americans, those temperatures...

[ricky-road-flats]

The warmest spot is 927 C, on the equivalent of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and the coolest region is 'only' 649 C.

Good work Data.

[Nibbler999]

Data from the Spitzer Space Telescope has been used by researchers to make the first-ever map of an extrasolar planet

Data's really keeping himself busy these days.

Obligatory Data Quote

[SeaDour]

"Life forms.... You tiny little life forms..... You precious little life forms.... Where are you?"

Re:Interesting in a way i suppose

[radtea]

but seriously. It orbits very close to its sun so is anyone surprised the damn thing is really hot?

The interesting science is how the temperature is distributed, not that it is really hot. The planet is almost certainly tidally locked, so one side faces the star all the time. However, the hottest part of the planet is not at the "high noon" position on the "surface" (which for some reason is what the article calls the cloud-tops).

The highest temperature region is about 30 degrees (angle, not temperature!) away from high noon. This, plus the relatively small temperature difference between the light hemisphere and dark hemisphere tell us that the planetary atmosphere is subject to extremely high winds, which are distributing the heat.

This is a fascinating way of probing the dynamics of planetary atmospheres under extreme conditions.