3D atmospheric structure
These two movies are different ways of looking at the 3-D structure of a hot Jupiter atmosphere.
R63.500.4Lev.mp4The movie on the left shows four pressure levels in the planet's atmosphere, with the temperature in color and the wind vectors as arrows. The altitude of each layer is also represented (although not to scale), showing that the hotter side of the planet is more "puffed up" (i.e. has a larger scale height). The seam at the substellar longitude is an artifact of the plotting method.
Credit: D. Spiegel. Related paper: Burrows et al. (2010)
The movie on the right shows the temperature structure (in color) and wind pattern (arrows) at different layers in the atmosphere (each successive frame is a deeper pressure level). The planet is viewed as if the star is off to the left.
Credit: E. Rauscher. Related paper: Rauscher & Menou (2010)
