chemical layers<\/a> in the atmosphere, driven by powerful winds and extreme temperature gradients.<\/p>\nLead author Julia Victoria Seidel from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and France\u2019s C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur Observatory described the discovery with excitement:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe atmosphere of this planet behaves in ways that defy our understanding of weather \u2014 not just on Earth, but anywhere. It\u2019s like something out of a sci-fi movie. We found a jet stream racing around the equator, while a separate flow deep below moves gas from the scorching day side to the cooler night side. Nothing like this has ever been seen before. Even the fiercest hurricanes in our Solar System seem calm in comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n
Astronomers have revealed the 3D structure of an exoplanet\u2019s atmosphere for the first time. Tylos (or WASP-121b) is a giant gas planet located some 900 light-years away. Astronomers were able to distinguish three different layers in its atmosphere, where winds transport elements such as hydrogen, sodium, and iron at extreme speeds, creating weather phenomena never before observed. This result was achieved by combining the four telescopes of ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope in Chile. \u00a9 ESO. Music: Stellardrone \u2013 I Don\u2019t Belong Here; Screenplay: A. Izquierdo Lopez, S. Bromilow; Images and photos: ESO, L. Cal\u00e7ada, M. Kornmesser, D. Gasparri, C. Malin; Editing: A. Tsaousis<\/p>\n
A view beyond space telescopes<\/p>\n
\u201cThe VLT allowed us to examine three distinct layers of the exoplanet\u2019s atmosphere at once \u2014 something that\u2019s nearly impossible for space telescopes,\u201d explained co-author Leonardo A. dos Santos, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. \u201cIt shows how crucial ground-based observatories still are for studying exoplanets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doctoral researcher Bibiana Prinoth, from Sweden\u2019s Lund University and ESO, led the companion study in Astronomy & Astrophysics. She says the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), now being built in Chile\u2019s Atacama Desert, will take this work even further. Equipped with its ANDES instrument, it will soon let scientists create 3D maps of smaller, Earth-like planets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ELT will be a game changer for exoplanet research,\u201d Prinoth said. \u201cIt really feels like we\u2019re on the brink of discovering extraordinary things \u2014 the kind we can only dream about today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Laurent Sacco<\/p>\n
Journalist<\/p>\n
Born in Vichy in 1969, I grew up during the Apollo era, inspired by space exploration, nuclear energy, and major scientific discoveries. Early on, I developed a passion for quantum physics, relativity, and epistemology, influenced by thinkers like Russell, Popper, and Teilhard de Chardin, as well as scientists such as Paul Davies and Haroun Tazieff.<\/p>\n
I studied particle physics at Blaise-Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand, with a parallel interest in geosciences and paleontology, where I later worked on fossil reconstructions. Curious and multidisciplinary, I joined Futura to write about quantum theory, black holes, cosmology, and astrophysics, while continuing to explore topics like exobiology, volcanology, mathematics, and energy issues.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve interviewed renowned scientists such as Fran\u00e7oise Combes, Abhay Ashtekar, and Aur\u00e9lien Barrau, and completed advanced courses in astrophysics at the Paris and C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur Observatories. Since 2024, I\u2019ve served on the scientific committee of the Cosmos prize. I also remain deeply connected to the Russian and Ukrainian scientific traditions, which shaped my early academic learning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thirty years ago, scientists were thrilled just to detect exoplanets. Then they learned to measure their temperatures, wind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[61,60,82,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-209519","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}