File:HD 80606 Exoplanetary Storm.jpg

These theoretical models allow astronomers to better understand weather patterns on distant planets. While direct telescopic observations of the atmospheres of such worlds may be many decades away, such simulations give us a clue to what we may see when it becomes possible.

The Spitzer observations themselves spanned the relatively brief period when the heating of the planet was most intense, running from 20 hours prior to 10 hours after periastron. The observations were made in Nov. of 2007.