COSEE Ocean Systems: News
Planets Sometimes Blow Their Tops
Description: While Earth dwells at a comfortable distance from the sun, there are many exoplanets on "hot" orbits. These worlds are so close to their stars that their "years" are measured in our days. Such tiny orbits mean radiation from the star sears the planet's atmosphere, heating it to temperatures as high as 10,000 degrees. With so much intense starlight flooding through the sky, the atmosphere is jolted into movement, flowing outward into space at speeds over 150,000 miles per hour. The planetary wind streams out into the space between the planet and the star curling into beautiful and complex orbits. [Source: National Public Radio]
URL: http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/03/22/471384212/planets-sometimes-blow-their-tops
Availability: Full Text
Source: National Public Radio
Publish Date: 3/22/2016
Reading Level: Basic
Page Length:  

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