The Wild Temperature Swings of an Exoplanet

The exoplanet HD80606 b spends most of its time far from its star, but every 111 days it swings in feverishly close. NASA s Spitzer Space Telescope measured the planet s extreme temperature swings using infrared light. This allowed astronomers to simulate its atmosphere. For more information about Spitzer, visit Visuals credit: NASA, JPLCaltech