The extreme temperature of these unusual planets … allows the magnetic field to be coupled to the atmospheric winds Credit: Newcastle University
It is now possible to measure the magnetic field strengths of the hottest planets in the galaxy, new research has shown. Studying ‘hot Jupiters’, experts from Newcastle University, UK, have shown the planets’ magnetic field is responsible for the unusual behaviour of the atmospheric winds which move around it. Instead of moving in an eastward direction as has always been assumed, new observations have shown the winds varied from eastward to westward on the hot planet HAT-P-7b. Using this observation, Dr Tamara Rogers was able to estimate the magnetic field strength of this far-off planet.
Dr Rogers says this new understanding of the magnetic field...
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