TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The European Space Agency (ESA) recently shared a mesmerizing video of what is being described as “massive cyclones” that were spotted on an exoplanet.
The stunning visuals of the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-121 b, also known as Tylos, were captured by the Hubble Space Telescope during observations in the late 2010s.
Astronomers were able to combine those observations to create the video above. They described the fiery visual as cyclones being repeatedly created and destroyed because of the difference in temperatures on the exoplanet.
WASP-121 b is described as a hot Jupiter, an exoplanet with no direct solar system analog, and has temperatures exceeding 3,000 Kelvins. They’re inflated gas giants that complete an orbit in a matter of a few days.
ESA said seeing the cyclones can help astronomers observing weather patterns on exoplanets like WASP-121 b.
“Weather on Earth is responsible for many aspects of our life, and in fact the long-term stability of Earth’s climate and its weather is likely the reason why life could emerge in the first place,” Quentin Changeat, an ESA Research Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute, said in a press release. “Studying exoplanets’ weather is vital to understanding the complexity of exoplanet atmospheres, especially in our search for exoplanets with habitable conditions.”
