Extreme Skies: Weather on Hot Jupiters Quiz

If a planet is classified as a gas giant like Jupiter, and if it is situated extremely close to its star, then it will absorb massive amounts of heat; therefore, it is called a Hot Jupiter.

If a planet is tidally locked due to its close proximity to a star, and if tidal locking means the rotation period equals the orbital period, then one hemisphere will experience permanent day while the other experiences permanent night.

If the temperature difference between the permanent day and night sides is over 1000 degrees, and if high temperature gradients drive powerful atmospheric motion, then the resulting winds can reach speeds of thousands of miles per hour.

If the temperature in an atmosphere exceeds 1500 degrees Celsius, then water cannot condense into clouds; if rocky minerals like silicates vaporize at these temperatures and then cool slightly, they will form "rock clouds."

If any planet has an atmosphere and a heat source, then it will develop winds and jet streams; however, if the temperature is too high on a Hot Jupiter, liquid water and ice cannot exist as they do on Earth.

If a planet is located only a few million miles from a star, and if that star provides constant, intense energy to one side, then that radiation is the primary source of energy for all atmospheric movement.

If extreme winds on exoplanets are strong enough, they will physically push the heated air around the planet; if the air is pushed before it can cool, then the hottest spot will be shifted away from the point directly under the star.

If gravitational forces slow a planet's rotation until it matches its orbit, then the planet becomes synchronized with the star; if it is synchronized, it is described as being tidally locked.

If hydrogen and helium are the most abundant elements in a star-forming nebula, and if a gas giant has enough gravity to hold onto these light gases, then its atmosphere will be dominated by them.

If the temperatures are high enough to melt metal and the winds are fast enough to exceed the speed of sound, then you will see iron rain and supersonic winds; however, ice snow is impossible at such high heat.

If Earth rotates quickly and is far from the Sun, then the Coriolis effect dominates its weather; if a Hot Jupiter is dominated by the star's heat and is tidally locked, then the star's radiation is the primary influence.

If the atmospheric jet streams on a planet like Venus or a Hot Jupiter move at incredible speeds regardless of the planet's slow spin, then the phenomenon is known as super-rotation.

If we cannot see the planet's surface directly, and if we can measure the total heat coming from the star-planet system, then we can calculate the planet's temperature changes as different sides rotate into view.

If the day-side is receiving constant light, it would get even hotter if the air stayed still; if the wind carries that hot air to the dark side, then the wind acts as a cooling system for the day-side.

If weather is a physical process, then it must be influenced by energy (distance), motion (rotation), chemistry (composition), and forces like magnetism; human population has no effect on these distant gas giants.

If the dark side of a planet never sees the sun, it should be near absolute zero; if it remains warm, then the atmosphere must be physically carrying thermal energy from the day-side, which is heat transport.

If Earth's liquid water were exposed to the extreme radiation of a Hot Jupiter's position, then the water would evaporate instantly; if the greenhouse effect became too strong, the atmosphere would transform into a hellish environment.

If Earth has multiple jet streams due to its fast rotation and various landmasses, and if a tidally locked Hot Jupiter typically has one giant, overwhelming central jet, then the Hot Jupiter's weather structure is actually simpler.

If we can see how atmospheres behave under extreme conditions, then we can test our computer models; if the models work for Hot Jupiters, we can trust them more when they are used to predict climate changes on Earth.

If an object emitting or reflecting light is moving toward or away from an observer at high speed, then the wavelength of that light will be stretched or squeezed; this shift is the Doppler effect.