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Chilean Team Measures 25,000 km/h Hot-Jupiter Winds, Magnetic Fields

6/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

Chilean scientists used ESO’s Very Large Telescope and Gemini North to measure winds on seven hot-Jupiter exoplanets and infer magnetic fields.
Winds ranged from ~7,200 km/h to >25,000 km/h, far above Jupiter’s fastest ~1,500 km/h.
The team attributes slower winds on hotter planets to magnetic braking.
Inferred magnetic fields are about four times Saturn’s or half Jupiter’s, prompting hopes that the Extremely Large Telescope will study smaller exoplanets and aurorae.

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Story summary

Chilean scientists used ESO’s Very Large Telescope and Gemini North to measure winds on seven hot-Jupiter exoplanets and infer magnetic fields.
Winds ranged from ~7,200 km/h to >25,000 km/h, far above Jupiter’s fastest ~1,500 km/h.
The team attributes slower winds on hotter planets to magnetic braking.
Inferred magnetic fields are about four times Saturn’s or half Jupiter’s, prompting hopes that the Extremely Large Telescope will study smaller exoplanets and aurorae.