Scientists discovered a planet ravaged by storms of rubies and sapphires
This is the first time that we have observed weather on another planet, the fact that the clouds are made from rubies and sapphires just makes it alot cooler
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Griffin, M. (2016) 'Scientists discovered a planet ravaged by storms of rubies and sapphires', 311 Institute, 14 December. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/scientists-discovered-a-planet-ravaged-by-storms-of-rubies-and-sapphires/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Elon Musk wants to travel to Mars, but I think he should seriously reconsider after British astronomers struck gold, well, rubies and sapphires at least, when they discovered that a gas giant more than 1,000 light years away from Earth is being ravaged by massive storms that are likely made of Corundum, the same stuff the two precious gems are made out of.
The planet, which has the catchy name of HAT-P-7b, is 16 times larger than Earth, and researchers at the University of Warwick determined that it’s most likely affected by massive weather changes by monitoring the shifts in light that gets reflected from the planet’s atmosphere. They found that HAT-P-7b has an equatorial jet with “dramatically variable wind speeds,” and at its fastest, these winds surge around the planet, creating devastating storms.
Those storms, though, are probably beautiful, since they’re made of the gem dust but alas, nobody would be able to observe them and live, because HAT-P-7b is a tidally locked planet that doesn’t spin, meaning one side is always facing its star. Researchers say the hot side of the planet would be nearly 4,700 degrees Fahrenheit.
“We expect clouds to form on the cold night side of the planet, but they would evaporate quickly on the hot dayside,” explained Dr. David Armstrong, a member of Warwicks Astrophysics Group.
These results show that strong winds circle the planet, transporting clouds from the night side to the day side,” he continued, “the winds change speed dramatically, leading to huge cloud formations building up then dying away.”
The discovery marks the first time that scientists have observed weather on a gas giant outside of the solar system. Yes, we have Jupiter’s Great Red Spot in our own galactic backyard, but as impressive as it is, that storm isn’t made of anything you could stuff into a piece of bling. HAT-P-7b might be the winner here.
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This is the first time that we have observed weather on another planet, the fact that the clouds are made from rubies and sapphires just makes it alot cooler
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Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
- Corundum en.wikipedia.org
- University of Warwick www2.warwick.ac.uk
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 14 December 2016. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2016). Scientists discovered a planet ravaged by storms of rubies and sapphires. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/scientists-discovered-a-planet-ravaged-by-storms-of-rubies-and-sapphires/
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