An instrument designed to study exoplanets has turned its focus to our own cosmic neighborhood to measure Jupiter's wind speeds.
Using the ESPRESSO spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in northern Chile, researchers analyzed changes in sunlight reflected by the clouds in the atmosphere of Jupiter. By measuring the shift in the wavelength of the reflected light, the researchers were able to calculate the speed of Jupiter's clouds relative to Earth, according to a statement.
