天文学家利用詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜发现，距地球1300光年的系外行星WASP-17b的大气具有不对称的结构1。由康奈尔大学和布里斯托尔大学联合主导的研究团队采用新开发的凌日映射技术，首次揭示这颗热木星大气在晚间一侧向外隆起的现象1。这一发现已发表在《自然天文学》期刊上1。
研究表明，WASP-17b大气轮廓呈现不对称形态的原因是强大的风将热量从白天侧转移到黑暗侧，导致大气在晚间侧膨胀1。康奈尔大学Klarman博士后研究员Lili Alderson作为首席作者领导了这项工作1。这项成果验证了关于极端温度和风如何改变系外行星大气的理论预测，为进一步理解系外行星的大气动力学提供了新的观测证据1。该研究得到了NASA、英国研究创新（UKRI）科技设施委员会（STFC）以及Klarman研究金的资金支持1。
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered an unusual atmospheric structure on WASP-17b, a hot Jupiter located 1,300 light-years from Earth.1 The research team, led by Lili Alderson, a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University's Klarman Fellowship program, employed a newly developed transmission mapping technique to reveal that the exoplanet's atmosphere bulges outward on its evening side, creating an asymmetrical profile.1
The atmospheric distortion results from powerful winds that transport heat from the planet's permanently sunlit dayside to its dark nightside.1 This finding provides observational confirmation of theoretical predictions about how extreme temperatures and winds reshape the atmospheres of distant worlds.1 The transmission mapping technique, developed by David Grant and Hannah Wakeford, marks the first time such three-dimensional atmospheric asymmetry has been directly observed on an exoplanet.1 The research was conducted jointly by Cornell University and the University of Bristol and has been published in Nature Astronomy.1 The study was supported by funding from NASA, the UK Research and Innovation Science and Technology Facilities Council, and the Klarman Research Fellowship.1
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