Top 10 Wierdest Planets...
Space is unbelievably strange. You would be forgiven for thinking that
every planet out there is similar, just a big ball of rock and gas, but
planets are remarkably more unique than that. Here's the top 10
strangest planets in the known universe, that seem like they belong in
some bizarre science fiction series.
Similar to other planets that are tidally-locked, Gliese 581C is forced to face one way as it orbits its red dwarf star. This means that the side facing the star is scorching hot while the dark side is constantly frozen.
Nevertheless, scientists speculate that a portion of Gliese 581C is habitable – in fact, this planet is believed to be the best candidate for human expansion. Living on this surface would be reminiscent of hell, partially due to the fact that a red dwarf star bombards the planet with red and infrared light, leading to plants that would likely have to adapt to the flood of infrared light by turning black.
This charming planet hangs out in the Crux constellation,
approximately 300 light years from the Earth. Over 11 times bigger than
Jupiter, this “Super-Jupiter” class planet is a discovery that confounds
modern astronomers.
Despite its immense size, the planet orbits its star at a distance 20 times greater than the space between the Sun and Neptune, which is about 60,000,000,000 miles, making it one of the loneliest known planets in the universe.
Astrophysicists marvel at this outcast because Jupiter-style planets typically need to be closer to their star to gather enough raw material to form. Another hypothesis – that HD 106906 b is a failed star – would challenge binary star theory because the loneliest planet is considered too small for binary formations.
Close to the size of Jupiter, located about 750 light years away in
orbit of a sun-like star, TrES-2b is a planet that absorbs so much light
that scientists consider it the darkest planet in the known universe.
Despite the fact that it’s a Jupiter-class gas giant, it reflects less
than 1 percent of the light that strikes the planet, compared to a
reflection rate of around 33% for Jupiter.
As a result, the planet is darker than coal or black acrylic paint, leading to speculation that the atmosphere is laced with a chemical or mix of compounds yet to be discovered. TrES-2b isn’t entirely dark – it’s hot enough, at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, to emit a dull, reddish glow, likely only visible because the planet absorbs so much of its oncoming light.
Planet Methuselah – also known as PSR 1620-26 b – is so old that it
defies traditional astrophysical models. Traditionally, it was thought
that a planet can’t be 13 billion years old because of a lack of
materials that planets needed to form during that time in the universe.
Yet, Methuselah is nearly triple the age of Earth and was likely formed only one billion years after the big bang. Planet Methuselah roams among a globular cluster of stars, locked together by gravity in the constellation of Scorpius. Within the cluster, Methuselah orbits a binary star system consisting of a white dwarf star and a pulsar.
CoRoT-7b was the first rocky planet discovered in orbit of another
star. Astronomers believe it used to be a giant gas planet similar to
Saturn or Neptune, before its layers of atmosphere and gas were stripped
away because of the planet’s close proximity to a star.
Due to the fact that the planet is tidally-locked, the part of CoRoT-7b that faces the star is 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit while the dark side of the planet reaches temperatures as frigid as 350F. These conditions contribute to rock rain, where vaporized rock falls to the surface of the planet as liquid rock rain, eventually hardening into solid stone before making impact.
A recent discovery by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics, HAT-P-1 is a gas giant half the size of Jupiter that
weighs roughly the same as a ball of cork. This incredibly odd planet
has caused an uproar in the halls of academic astronomy because it’s
classified as a “hot Jupiter” planet that’s nearly 25% larger than
models estimate.
The controversy has astrophysicists scrambling to find a reason why the planet has swelled beyond the established norm. In the distant future, perhaps humanity will be capable of transporting a swimming pool half the size of Jupiter 450 light years in order to test how well the planet floats in water.
A “Super-Earth” class planet that’s roughly twice the size of Earth
with temperatures that reach 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit, 55 Cancri e was
discovered in 2004. After years of observation, astronomers believe that
this big, rocky planet is made mostly of carbon that turned
into diamond and graphite.
According to the current market value of diamond, this would make 55 Cancri e worth a total of $26.9 nonillion dollars, which is about 384 quintillion times more than the Earth’s paltry GDP of around 74 trillion USD.
According to Forbes, only 0.182% of 55 Cancri e would need to be mined in order to pay back the total debt of all the governments in the world, which hovers close to $50 trillion USD. Investors should note that this potential mining project is only 40 light years away and shrouded in scientific controversy.
Discovered in 2012 with its data only recently compiled and submitted
for publication, planet J1407 b is located 400 light years from Earth
and boasts a system of planetary rings that are 200 times bigger than
the ones orbiting Saturn.
The Saturnian ring system of J1407 b is so large that if Saturn had a ring system of similar size, it would dominate the Earth’s sky and appear much larger than the full moon. Scientists have observed gaps in the ring systems, leading them to believe that these gaps represent exomoons orbiting this exoplanet. The ring system is so large that astronomers observed a 56-day eclipse of the star that J1407 b orbits.
Another crazy planet classified under the Gliese catalogue of nearby
stars, Gliese 436 b is roughly the size of Neptune. It’s about 20 times
larger than the Earth, but orbits only 4.3 million miles from its star –
compared to the Earth, which orbits roughly 93 million miles from the
Sun.
The resulting temperature on Gliese 436 b is a consistent 822 degrees Fahrenheit. The ice that exists on the planet is kept together by immense gravitational forces. These forces prevent water molecules from evaporating and escaping the planet, instead becoming tightly packed deep within. The burning ice in Gliese 436 b is referred to as ice-ten, reminiscent of but much hotter than the ice-nine found in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.
10. Gliese 581C: The Murder Planet
Similar to other planets that are tidally-locked, Gliese 581C is forced to face one way as it orbits its red dwarf star. This means that the side facing the star is scorching hot while the dark side is constantly frozen.
Nevertheless, scientists speculate that a portion of Gliese 581C is habitable – in fact, this planet is believed to be the best candidate for human expansion. Living on this surface would be reminiscent of hell, partially due to the fact that a red dwarf star bombards the planet with red and infrared light, leading to plants that would likely have to adapt to the flood of infrared light by turning black.
9. HD 106906 b is the Loneliest Planet
Despite its immense size, the planet orbits its star at a distance 20 times greater than the space between the Sun and Neptune, which is about 60,000,000,000 miles, making it one of the loneliest known planets in the universe.
Astrophysicists marvel at this outcast because Jupiter-style planets typically need to be closer to their star to gather enough raw material to form. Another hypothesis – that HD 106906 b is a failed star – would challenge binary star theory because the loneliest planet is considered too small for binary formations.
8. TrES-2b: The Black Hole Planet
As a result, the planet is darker than coal or black acrylic paint, leading to speculation that the atmosphere is laced with a chemical or mix of compounds yet to be discovered. TrES-2b isn’t entirely dark – it’s hot enough, at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, to emit a dull, reddish glow, likely only visible because the planet absorbs so much of its oncoming light.
7. Planet Methuselah is a Billion Years Younger than the Universe
Yet, Methuselah is nearly triple the age of Earth and was likely formed only one billion years after the big bang. Planet Methuselah roams among a globular cluster of stars, locked together by gravity in the constellation of Scorpius. Within the cluster, Methuselah orbits a binary star system consisting of a white dwarf star and a pulsar.
6. Planet Osiris Ignores the Lessons of Icarus
The first exoplanet discovered in transit of its orbiting star, Osiris,
otherwise known as HD 209458b, is located 150 light years away in the
constellation of Pegasus. About 30% larger than Jupiter with an orbit
that’s one-eighth the distance of Mercury from the Sun, the temperature
of this planet is around 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat and pressure
exerted on this gas planet has resulted in a significant evaporation of
various atmospheric gases, which stream out from the planet’s
gravitational field like air from an invisible balloon. Osiris stunned
astronomers and astrophysics experts when hydrogen, oxygen and carbon
were detected rushing away from the planet, leading to an entire new
type of planet classification, referred to as chthonian.
5. The Rock Showers of Planet CoRoT-7b
Due to the fact that the planet is tidally-locked, the part of CoRoT-7b that faces the star is 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit while the dark side of the planet reaches temperatures as frigid as 350F. These conditions contribute to rock rain, where vaporized rock falls to the surface of the planet as liquid rock rain, eventually hardening into solid stone before making impact.
4. HAT-P-1 is Bigger than Uranus and Floats in Water
The controversy has astrophysicists scrambling to find a reason why the planet has swelled beyond the established norm. In the distant future, perhaps humanity will be capable of transporting a swimming pool half the size of Jupiter 450 light years in order to test how well the planet floats in water.
3. 55 Cancri e is worth $26.9 nonillion dollars
According to the current market value of diamond, this would make 55 Cancri e worth a total of $26.9 nonillion dollars, which is about 384 quintillion times more than the Earth’s paltry GDP of around 74 trillion USD.
According to Forbes, only 0.182% of 55 Cancri e would need to be mined in order to pay back the total debt of all the governments in the world, which hovers close to $50 trillion USD. Investors should note that this potential mining project is only 40 light years away and shrouded in scientific controversy.
2. J1407 b Features Planetary Rings 200 Times Larger than Saturn
The Saturnian ring system of J1407 b is so large that if Saturn had a ring system of similar size, it would dominate the Earth’s sky and appear much larger than the full moon. Scientists have observed gaps in the ring systems, leading them to believe that these gaps represent exomoons orbiting this exoplanet. The ring system is so large that astronomers observed a 56-day eclipse of the star that J1407 b orbits.
1. Gliese 436 b – A Burning Orb of Ice
The resulting temperature on Gliese 436 b is a consistent 822 degrees Fahrenheit. The ice that exists on the planet is kept together by immense gravitational forces. These forces prevent water molecules from evaporating and escaping the planet, instead becoming tightly packed deep within. The burning ice in Gliese 436 b is referred to as ice-ten, reminiscent of but much hotter than the ice-nine found in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.
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