NASA continues to scan our galaxy daily in search of new planets and systems scattered across the vast expanses of space. Humanity has sent many probes into space, ranging from Voyagers to Juno. And they all carry out a common task - the study of the solar system and what lies beyond it.
Perhaps the most effective tool for finding exoplanets at the moment is the Kepler space observatory. You have probably already noted more than once that most of the discovered worlds are named after him.
Although we find many exoplanets every year, most of these worlds are lifeless boulders located near distant and unexplored stars. But it turns out that even among them there are such unusual specimens that even the most seasoned astrophysicists are sometimes forced to scratch their heads. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the ten most spectacular. Not the back of the head, but exoplanets, of course.
Ice ball. Planet OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb
OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb is an ice planet located 13,000 light years from the solar system. The temperature on its surface can vary from -220 to -186 degrees Celsius, which is why it is often called an "ice ball".
A light year is a relative measure of the distance that will need to be covered if you move at the speed of light for an entire year. The speed of light, in turn, is approximately 300,000 kilometers per second, or more than one billion kilometers per hour. In other words, if we want to look at this ice ball personally, then we will have to fly to it for a very long time and at a very high speed.
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Currently, the fastest known man-made object in space is the New Horizons space probe, which was sent to study the planet Pluto, its moons, and Kuiper Belt objects in 2006. Its speed is just over 58,000 kilometers per hour, well below the speed of light. All this is to the fact that we do not yet have the technology that would allow us to visit the nearest system, even if it is only a few light years away. Therefore, we use long-range observation technologies to detect and determine some of the characteristics of distant exoplanets and their atmospheres. The same OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb was discovered using the microlensing method - when a planet passed its star, a short-term decrease in its brightness was observed.
Scientists believe that the ice of the planet OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb is composed of water. The news is definitely great, but we are unlikely to be able to use this water in the near future. Guessing, of course, is endless, but who knows, perhaps this planet can be used as a source of fresh water by highly developed and technologically advanced alien civilizations.
Hell in the flesh. Planet KELT-9b
KELT-9b is the hottest exoplanet ever discovered. She is so hot that she literally kills herself, burning her mass. It is 650 light-years away and has one side constantly facing its star.
As a gas giant, it is about three times the size of our Jupiter and at the same time the temperature on its surface is 4315 degrees Celsius. This is larger than most stars we know, and almost as hot as the surface of our Sun, which burns at 5505 degrees Celsius.
In a few million years, KELT-9b will completely burn out, and then completely disappear, leaving only a lone star located next to it.
The world of water. Planet GJ 1214b
Planet GJ 1214b is a huge "water world" three times the size of our Earth and about 42 light years from our solar system. All water on Earth is only 0.05 percent of the mass of our planet, while GJ 1214b has so much water that its mass is 10 percent of the total mass of the planet.
Scientists speculate that GJ 1214b has oceans that can be as deep as 1,600 kilometers. For comparison: the deepest point on planet Earth, the Mariana Trench, goes down only 11 kilometers.
We have explored only about 5 percent of the area of our oceans and have already managed to find countless living things, the existence of which did not even exist. Just imagine how much deep-sea horror can be hidden under the thickness of the oceans GJ 1214b!
Planet PSR J1719-1438 b. Best friend of girls
Planet PSR J1719-1438 b is a giant, purest diamond. In the literal sense of the word. The carbon planet is about five times the diameter of the Earth. It is located 4000 light years from the solar system. Due to the very powerful force of gravity and the pressure exerted, the planet turned into one giant diamond.
This exoplanet orbits the millisecond pulsar PSR J1719-1438. Astronomers believe that this pulsar was once a very massive star, which later died out and then turned into a supernova. Very rare millisecond pulsars are believed to form due to the absorption of matter from a companion star. That is, earlier this system was also double.
In this case, the companion to the star, most likely, was a white dwarf, into which our Sun will also one day turn. White dwarfs, we recall, are former massive stars that have developed their hydrogen and are unable to maintain thermonuclear reactions inside their cores.
The millisecond pulsar may have "ate" all the matter of the white dwarf, leaving only about 0.1 mass. As a result, the white dwarf turned into a truly exotic companion to the pulsar - the diamond planet.
Planet Kepler-16b. The real Tatooine
Planet Kepler-16b is in fact a real analogue of the planet Tatooine from the cinematic universe "Star Wars". This title was given to her in large part because Kepler-16b is one of the few discovered exoplanets orbiting a binary system of stars.
The mass of Kepler-16b is about 105 times that of the Earth, while its radius is 8.5 times that of our planet. The atmosphere of this world is mostly hydrogen, methane and a small amount of helium. About 200 light years away, Kepler 16b orbits its two stars every 627 Earth days.
Despite the fact that the planet looks like Tatooine, Kepler-16b, unlike the latter, cannot support life. Let's assume that even droids cannot be found there.
Planet Kepler 10b. Scorched world
Planet Kepler 10b is the smallest exoplanet discovered, and scientists speculate that its surface is covered with entire oceans of liquid lava. Located about 560 light years from Earth, Kepler 10b is the first rocky planet to be discovered outside our solar system, effectively giving humanity the first step towards a future of space exploration.
The surface temperature of Kepler-10b heats up to 1400 degrees Celsius. As a result, the rock there literally melts, filling vast areas and forming real oceans of hot lava. The planet has a very high structural density, so it is speculated that Kepler 10b contains a large amount of iron, which adds a brighter red hue to the hot lava.
Dark planet. TrES-2b
TrES-2b is the darkest exoplanet ever discovered, reflecting less than 1 percent of the star's light that reaches it. This makes it blacker than charcoal or black acrylic paint. In fact, it is a miracle that we found this planet, since it hides in the darkness of space, better than any ninja. By the way, this raises the question: how many exoplanets could we have missed if there are such as TrES-2b?
Our hero is located about 750 light years from the solar system. Its atmosphere consists of vaporized sodium, potassium, and titanium oxide. According to astronomers, this is why the planet reflects so little light, but the final answer to the riddle of why the planet is so dark has not yet been found and may never be. Who knows, maybe some intelligent civilization lives on TrES-2b, but we will never know about it. It's a very dark planet.
HD 189733b. Planet with glass rains
Perhaps one of the most interesting exoplanets on this list is HD 189733b, located 63 light years away. The fact is that it rains on it. Glass rains. Sideways. You read that correctly. Winds on this hellish exoplanet can reach 8,700 kilometers per hour, therefore, falling particles of hot glass produced by a concentrated atmosphere of silicon dioxide, without having time to fall to the surface, chase horizontally in different directions, cutting everything in their path, after which they still descend onto surface.
Imagine being stuck on such a planet in a storm!
55 Cancer e. Planet with strange water
Planet 55 Cancer e is in tidal grip, so one of its sides is constantly turned towards its native star. Due to this, water on its surface can be in a supercritical state - simultaneously liquid and in the form of a gas. The planet itself is about 25 times closer to the star than our Mercury is to the Sun, and makes a complete revolution around its star every 18 hours. It's very fast.
The mass of 55 Cancer e is approximately 7.8 times that of the Earth, and its radius is approximately 2 times that of our planet.
CoRoT-7b. Planet with stone snow
CoRoT-7b is a truly bizarre planet because it snows rocks!
Like many other exoplanets, CoRoT-7b is in tidal grip on its star. The surface temperature of the side facing the star is 2200 degrees Celsius, while on the side facing away from the star the average temperature is usually -210 degrees Celsius.
The lava on the lighted side heats up so much that it evaporates as a result, like water on our planet. This creates massive rock clouds, which then condense on the relatively cooler side and, as a result, fall to the surface in the form of huge boulders. If we could withstand the extreme temperatures on this planet, then the spectacle would open, and indeed, quite entertaining.
Nikolay Khizhnyak