Rotation of cloudy 'super-Jupiter' directly measured
Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 14:30
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers have measured the rotation rate of 'super-Jupiter-class' exoplanet 2M1207b by observing the varied brightness in its atmosphere. This is the first rotation rate measurement of a massive exoplanet using direct imaging. The observations also confirm that the planet's atmosphere has layers of patchy, colorless clouds.