Light fantastic
In this animation, stunning aurorae ripple around a “hot Jupiter” (hot Jupiters are exosolar planets, or planets outside our solar system). When a stellar eruption — known as a coronal mass ejection — hit the planet, it triggered these aurorae, which are the planetary equivalent of Earth’s northern and southern lights. However, this exoplanet’s aurorae shine up to a thousand times brighter than Earth’s, and extend from the equator to the poles. Animation created by Hyperspective Studios. Earth’s aurorae, or northern and southern lights, provide a dazzling light show in the polar regions. Shimmering curtains of green and red undulate across the sky. New research shows that aurorae on distant “hot Jupiters” could be 100 to 1,000 times brighter than Earth’s aurorae. Hot Jupiters are exosolar planets, or planets outside our solar system, that are large and gaseous like Jupiter but much hotter and in very close orbit with a star....