How fast are Neptune's winds?

https://sciencecards.org/space/how-fast-are-neptunes-winds

Neptune’s winds in the equatorial region have speeds of around 1,200 km/h (750 mph), with some storm systems having wind speeds that reach up to 2,100 km/h (1,304 mph) making them near-supersonic. For comparison, the fastest wind gust ever recorded on Earth was 408 km/h (253 mph). The average airliner flies at around 500 mph. The speeds of the winds on Neptune show just how different weather systems can be on other planets, and highlights another way that Earth is rare in its habitability.

9 points · 3 comments · view on lemmy.world

3 Comments

DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 24d

Earth is rare in its habitability.

For humans. Which makes sense, of course, we evolved here.

DougPiranha42@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 24d (1 reply)

What is the speed of sound in neptunian atmosphere? It sounds counterintuitive that wind could be supersonic.

okwhateverdude@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 24d

Apparently, it varies: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0032063398000993

But yeah, the wind itself is a bulk flow. Standing stationary in it would produce a shockwave