Welcome to the exoplanet HD 189733b, where temperatures reach 3,000°C (5,400°F) and winds are in excess of 620mph (1,000km/h). This world might be 63 light-years away - and we can’t even get a direct image of it - but scientists have incredibly been able to measure its atmosphere, just by measuring its sodium emission. The findings - made with a relatively small telescope - suggest we may soon have the opportunity to examine other distant worlds beyond the solar system in unprecedented detail. Swiss researchers measured the temperature of 'Hot Jupiter' HD 189733b. They found the temperature reaches up to 3,000°C in the atmosphere (shown in diagram). And wind speeds are in excess of 620 miles per hour. The findings were made using a novel technique relying on sodium signals . The research was carried out by scientists from the Universities of Geneva and Bern in Switzerland. HD 189733b is a gas-giant slightly larger than Jupiter located 370 trillion miles (600 trillion km) from Earth - or 63 light-years. It is located in the constellation Vulpecula in the night sky - also known as the ‘little fox’. The scientists found that the temperature on the planet increases dramatically with altitude – up to 3,000°C (5,400°F) in the upper atmosphere, hot enough to melt lead. Type: 'Hot Jupiter' gas giant . Distance from Earth: 63 light years . Temperature: Up to 3,000°C (5,400°F) Wind speed: 620mph (1,000km/h) Conditions: Glass particles in the atmosphere give it its dazzling blue colour. Coupled with the extremely high wind speed of 620 mph (1,000km/h), it reveals the planet has an extremely turbulent atmosphere - and is almost certainly inhospitable to life. The planet was already known to orbit 13 times closer to its star that Mercury is to our sun, completing an orbit in just 2.2 days. But the results are exciting, because it highlights just how much information we can glean from a distant world with limited technologies. Speaking to MailOnline, subproject leader Dr Kevin Heng said it could be possible to measure the conditions on an Earth-like world using this technique – although the process was difficult. ‘It remains to be seen if the astronomical community is able to do these measurements for Earth analogues,’ he said. The difficulty arises because an Earth-sized world blocks out much less of the light of its parent star compared to a Jupiter-sized world like HD 189733 b . ‘It would help if we can find an Earth-like exoplanet orbiting a really bright star,’ Dr Heng added. And he said the research was important because they used a 'dinky four-metre telescope from the ground to do measurements of the quality as the Hubble Space Telescope.' HD 189733b (right) is a gas-giant slightly larger than Jupiter (left) located 600 trillion kilometres from Earth - or 63 light-years. It is located in the constellation Vulpecula in the night sky - also known as the ‘little fox’ The scientists found that the temperature on the planet (illustrated) increases dramatically with altitude – up to 3,000C in the upper atmosphere, hot enough to melt lead. The technique works by measuring the ‘sodium signal’ from distant worlds. When a planet passes in front of its star, the intensity of this signal varies. Depending on how weak or strong the signal is, it is possible to work out how hot the planet is. And because the signals come from different altitudes, the scientists can measure the temperature difference across the atmosphere. Lower down on the planet, temperatures are believed to drop to a still-scorching 1,700°C (3,100°F). To measure the wind, the team measured how the sodium lines were ‘blueshifted’ - meaning its light was stretched in such a way to indicate it was coming towards us. The planet (shown) was already known to orbit 13 times closer to its star that Mercury is to our sun, completing an orbit in just 2.2 days. But the results are exciting, because it highlights just how much information we can glean from a distant world with limited technologies . And this blueshift suggests winds are coming from a circulation process on the planet – or, in other words, superfast winds. Comparable measurements of this planet have been made before, using large ground-based telescope (with mirrors up to 10 metres in size) and the Hubble Space Telescope. But this research used a comparatively small telescope, just 3.6 metres wide, at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in La Silla, Chile. The research opens up the opportunity of studying atmospheres of distant exoplanets without having to resort to giant observatories or space telescopes.
Swiss researchers examined the 'Hot Jupiter' planet HD 189733b . Temperatures reach 3,000°C in the atmosphere and wind speed is 620mph . Findings were comparable in quality to the Hubble Space Telescope . But the researchers used a 'relatively dinky' telescope, suggesting the method could be replicated by other astronomers to study exoplaents .