According to a new study by an international team of astrophysicists at the University of Toronto (Canada), the University of York (USA) and Queen’s University in Belfast (Ireland North) and thanks to the space telescope Kepler, is have discovered evidence of daily weather cycles on six extrasolar planets. These variations are similar to Earth’s cycles , although with different phases.
Among the findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal , cloudy mornings have been identified in four of these exoplanets and clear afternoons with high temperatures in another two .
“ The time on these alien worlds was determined by measuring the changes according to how the planets revolve around their parent stars, and identifying the day-night cycle. We trace each one of them going through a cycle of phases in which different parts of the planet are illuminated by their star, from fully illuminated to completely dark, ”explains Lisa Esteves, study leader.
Because these planets are very close to their stars, their counterclockwise motion – like most objects in our solar system – causes an eastward circulation of atmospheric winds. As a result, temperatures are colder on this side of the planet: “ As the winds continue to carry the clouds, they heat up and dissipate, leaving the afternoon sky cloud-free . These winds also push the hot air east from the meridian, where it is noon, leading to higher temperatures in the afternoon, ”Esteves clarifies.
The data collected by Kepler has been used to analyze the phase variations of these exoplanets. Its precision and the large amount of data collected has allowed astronomers to measure even the smallest signals from these very distant worlds, most of which are quite large and very hot, with temperatures ranging from 1,600ºC and similar sizes to our Jupiter .
” Some day not too far away we hope to be talking about weather reports from alien worlds not much larger than Earth, and making comparisons with our planet,” says study co-author Ray Jayawardhana.
Credit: Lisa Esteves / University of Toronto
