Hubble Directly Measures Rotation of Cloudy 'Super-Jupiter'
Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 13:30
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope 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.