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Tracking the Weather On an Exoplanet

Posted by Soulskill on from the for-when-dad-runs-out-of-content-on-the-weather-channel dept.

schwit1 writes: Scientists have begun gathering increasingly detailed information about the atmosphere and weather on the exoplanet HD189733B, 63 light years away with an orbit that produces a transit every 2.2 days. The temperature appears to rise with increasing altitude, reaching 3,000 degrees at the top of the atmosphere. There are also strong winds blowing from the cold to the hot side of the planet.

2 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Small Correction by anzha · · Score: 4, Informative

    An exoplanet should NOT be HD189733B. A capital B would denote a star. A lower case b denotes a planet. And, yes, you can have a HD XXXXBb. Alpha Centauri Bb is one of those. Its an S type circumbinary system. For those who are interested, I have a blog which links to the exoplanet papers are they come out, whether its from arxiv or one of the scientific journals.

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    Do you know why the road less traveled by is littered with the bones of the unwary?
    1. Re:Small Correction by anzha · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you mean 'just started' to mean 'for 20+ years now,' sure. The nomenclature for stars has been around for far, far longer. Exoplanets are given their b-c-d-e etc designation - never a, btw - in the order of discovery, not the order in the planetary system as well. Its not a clusterfuck. Its just a different discipline's rules and they've been consistent for a generation at least.

      --
      Do you know why the road less traveled by is littered with the bones of the unwary?