Do you know how fast the fastest wind in the solar system can reach?
The fastest wind speed on record on Earth occurred in Oklahoma, USA, in May 1999. At that time, in the tornado in the city of Muir, wind speeds of up to 513 kilometers per hour were measured.
It has also been argued that this data is inaccurate. The actual fastest wind speed on Earth was Tropical Cyclone Olivia, which set a record of 408 kilometers per hour when it passed over Barrow Island, Australia, in April 1996.
However, whether it's 408 for a hurricane or 513 for a tornado. Compared with the next number, it can only be a younger brother.
At 2,000 kilometers per hour, this is the daily wind speed on Neptune. If you put it on Earth, this speed is already much faster than the speed of sound. Can you imagine what a sonic boom blown out by the wind would be?
So, why is Neptune's wind so fast?
As we all know, the wind on Earth is not only related to rotation. The influence of solar energy also plays a very important role in this. The heat energy provided by solar radiation is considered to be one of the most important factors in the movement of air and eventually the formation of storms.
However, Neptune, located at the edge of the solar system, is clearly lacking in this energy. So, how does it blow the wind?
Scientists have come up with a variety of possible explanations for this.
First of all, it is because Neptune's atmosphere contains a large proportion of hydrogen and helium. These gases, at very low temperatures, become solid, resulting in an increase in the density of the atmosphere. When external forces such as the solar wind act on it, strong storms are generated.
Secondly, the energy inside Neptune may well also play an important role. After all, the pitiful heat received from the sun alone could not have lifted such a huge storm.
Therefore, scientists believe that there are very likely other energies present inside Neptune**.
It's just that we still don't know much about Neptune at the moment. All the information about it comes from the Voyager 2 leap in 1989.
However, the data that can be collected in a single leap is quite limited. Therefore, the heat** inside Neptune, and the reason for the winds on the surface, remains an unsolved mystery.
And, I'm afraid, in the short term, humanity won't be able to truly understand its causes.