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Now, weather forecasts for planets beyond our solar system
Imagine discussing and comparing weather reports of alien planets hundreds to thousands of light years away with our own. This is quite probable as an international team of astrophysicists have prepared weather forecasts for six exoplanets. Using sensitive observations from the Kepler space telescope, the researchers uncovered evidence of daily weather cycles on six extra-solar planets seen to exhibit different phases.
Toronto: Imagine discussing and comparing weather reports of alien planets hundreds to thousands of light years away with our own. This is quite probable as an international team of astrophysicists have prepared weather forecasts for six exoplanets. Using sensitive observations from the Kepler space telescope, the researchers uncovered evidence of daily weather cycles on six extra-solar planets seen to exhibit different phases.
Such phase variations occur as different portions of these planets reflect light from their stars, similar to the way our own moon cycles though different phases. Among the findings are indications of cloudy mornings on four of them and hot, clear afternoons on two others.
For four of the planets, the researchers saw excess brightness in the Kepler data that corresponds to when the morning side is visible. For the other two, they saw an excess when the evening side is visible. Most of the planets examined in this study are very hot and large, with temperatures greater than 1,600 degrees Celsius and sizes comparable to Jupiter - conditions far from hospitable to life but excellent for phase measurements.
