In Earth's upper atmosphere, a fast-moving band of air called the jet stream blows with winds of more than 275 miles (442 km) per hour, but they are not the strongest in our solar system. The comparable high-altitude winds on Neptune reach about 1,

Observations of WASP-127b, a giant gas exoplanet more than 500 light years from Earth, suggest it has phenomenally high wind speeds

Winds circling a gas giant more than 500 light years from Earth have been detected flowing at supersonic speeds approaching 33,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) per hour, making them the fastest air currents on any known planet by a wide margin.

Astronomers have uncovered one of the most extraordinary atmospheric phenomena ever observed on an exoplanet. Using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, researchers have measured supersonic winds racing around the equator of the distant gas giant WASP-127b.

Astronomers have discovered extremely powerful winds pummeling the equator of WASP-127b, a giant exoplanet. Reaching speeds up to 33,000 km/h, the winds make up the fastest jet stream of its kind ever measured on a planet.