To Understand the Atmospheres of Distant Exoplanets, Look to Your Car Engine

An artist's impression of a "hot Jupiter," a gauzy color-streaked planet with a star peeking up behind it. Exoplanets like these can, surprisingly, be modeled by those that simulate car engines.

The planets in question are scorching goliaths. They’re the size of Neptune or Jupiter, but orbit 50 times closer to their star than Earth does the Sun. This gives them hydrogen-rich gaseous atmospheres of 1,000 to 3,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 to 5,431 degrees Fahrenheit), which whip around at speeds of 10,000 kilometers (over 6,000 miles) per hour.

Source: To Understand the Atmospheres of Distant Exoplanets, Look to Your Car Engine

Please take a moment to support Amazing Stories with a one-time or recurring donation via Patreon. We rely on donations to keep the site going, and we need your financial support to continue quality coverage of the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres as well as supply free stories weekly for your reading pleasure. https://www.patreon.com/amazingstoriesmag

Previous Article

NASA’s planet-hunting spacecraft Kepler is near the end of its life

Next Article

Artículos Populares de Marzo

You might be interested in …

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.