Turbulent Planet

The winds on a giant planet more than 200 light-years from Earth are like the Big Bad Wolf: they’ll huff and puff and blow your house down. And if that’s not enough of a problem, the temperature can jump by 500 degrees in just a few hours. The planet orbits the star HD 80606. The star is a lot like the Sun. And it has a distant companion star that’s a near twin. They’re in Ursa Major, the great bear. At dawn, the system stands to the upper right of the Big Dipper, although you need a telescope to see it. The planet is HD 80606 b. It’s about four times the mass of Jupiter, the giant of our own solar system. But it’s about the same size as Jupiter, so it’s much denser. Its orbit is one of the most elongated of any known planet – its distance ranges from just three million miles to 85 million. As the planet approaches the star, it’s like being popped into an oven: The amount of energy it receives when it’s closest to the star is 800 times greater than when it’s farthest. So the planet heats up in a hurry. The approach also stirs up the winds. They blow outward from the point that’s in the middle of the hemisphere that faces the star. They may top out at 11,000 miles per hour – huffin’ and puffin’ all the way around this turbulent planet. Script by Damond Benningfield