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Our Universe is immense, therefore knowledge in the field of cosmic bodies is expanding every day. Scientists continually discover new stars and planets that move at great speeds, are characterized by a unique temperature regime, microclimate, geolocation and other indicators. Did you know that in space there are extended clouds that have a specific smell of alcohol (rum) or raspberries?
Until now, only the planets of the Solar System have been sufficiently studied, although even they have many differences among themselves. But the knowledge of the average student does not go beyond this system, which is a pity, because other planets hide a lot of amazing facts, and perhaps one day we will even discover an alternative life.
Let’s get acquainted today with the 10 mysterious planets of our Universe, which have been discovered in recent decades and are still being actively studied by scientists.
10 hell planet
We start the review with the planet from Hell – this is such a not entirely optimistic name. It is located at a distance of about two dozen light years from us. In many ways, including dimensions and orbit, the planet resembles our Earth, which is why scientists are so interested. Theoretically, people could develop its land, but hellish conditions do not allow it, because the average temperature on the planet reaches +40 ° C, while on ours it fluctuates around +17. The hellish temperature of the surface results from the fact that it faces towards the red dwarf. If a person finds himself in the illuminated area of the cosmic body, he will burn out in a matter of seconds, and in a darkened area, on the contrary, he will freeze.
9. blackest planet
The giant, reaching the size of Jupiter, is a gas conglomerate. It revolves around one of the large stars, which is similar in size to our Sun. The black planet is located at a distance of as much as 750 light years and is characterized by the fact that it reflects only up to 1% of the star’s light. This makes it the blackest of all planets known to science, because it is able to reflect light 4 times worse than charcoal. The surface of the cosmic body turned out to be blacker than the richest glossy acrylic paint. The temperature on the planet can reach almost 1000 degrees with a plus sign.
8. Burning Ice Planet
It has a romantic name in the style of “Game of Thrones”, and is located relatively “not far” from us – at a distance of 33 space years in the famous constellation Leo. In terms of dimensions, it approaches Neptune and is 22 times heavier than our planet, and more than 4 times larger in radius. It is located close to the star, making a revolution in 2,64 days. This cosmic body is interesting in that it consists mostly of liquid, which, when the surface is heated to 300 ° C, turns into hot ice. Gravity on the planet puts pressure on water, compacting its molecules, so even high temperature does not turn it into steam, but forces it to remain in a solid state of aggregation.
7. diamond planet
The planet was first discovered only 14 years ago. In size, it is 2 times larger than ours, and 8 times in mass due to the unique geological and chemical composition of the surface. It belongs to the class of “Super-Earths”. The planet revolves around its own star, making a revolution in almost 18 hours. The main element of the surface structure is carbon, from which graphite and, of course, crystalline diamonds are extracted. It is estimated that a third of the planet consists of deposits of this precious stone. We think that many wealthy world families have already had the idea to make the first interstellar flight to this particular cosmic body, because a rather expensive mission can pay off many, many times over. By the way, the planet is located relatively close to the Earth – 40 light years away.
6. Planet Osiris
This cosmic body is “thrown” from us at a distance of 153 light years and is located in the beautiful constellation Pegasus. According to preliminary calculations, it is one third larger than Jupiter, but the orbit is quite small – only 10 million kilometers (this is one eighth of the diameter of Mercury’s orbit). The temperature on the planet reaches 1,5 thousand degrees and, together with the enormous pressure, creates a unique atmosphere. Osiris is composed of gaseous clusters that overcome the gravitational field and can gain tremendous speed. Therefore, during the movement of the planet, a “tail” of gas accumulations remains behind it. Scientists have calculated that it may take trillions of years for the complete evaporation of gases from the surface of the planet and the cessation of its existence.
5. A planet with an incredibly huge system of planetary rings
It was discovered only 6 years ago, and data was released to people only in 2014. It is located at a distance of 434 light years and, according to some reports, is either a brown dwarf or a gas giant. It revolves around its own star, which is also a subgiant. Equipped with a developed system of planetary rings of the type familiar to us from Saturn, only their number exceeds about a couple of hundred times. Scientists have already counted about 37 rings with radii of about 90 million km. The planet is quite young, so the ring system is a kind of “encyclopedia” for the study of satellites in gas giants.
4. Planet Methuselah
Almost 2,5 times larger than Jupiter. It is located near a system of 2 stars inside the constellation Scorpio, which includes a white dwarf and a pulsar. Methuselah is located far from the Earth at a distance of 12,4 thousand light years. Around its own stars, the cosmic body completes a revolution as much as a century. Many believe that Methuselah is the oldest cosmic body in the entire universe, which threatens to reorient the knowledge of astrophysicists. The age of Methuselah has already been calculated – about 12,7 billion years (that is, 3 times older than the Earth), and at the same time it is a billion years younger than the Universe. How can this be, because then presumably there were no materials for its creation yet.
3. The lightest planet
Despite its impressive size, this giant of gas clusters is one of the lightest planets with an average density of 290 ± 30 kg / m³, which is much less than Earth’s. Removed at a distance of 450 space years. The weight is up to 60% of the mass of Jupiter, despite the fact that the diameter exceeds by more than a third. Scientists speculate that this cosmic body would be able to float in liquid if a suitable “reservoir” could be built.
2. planet of stone rain
It is located almost 490 light years from our planet. It is considered a super-Earth with a radius that is 1,5 times the Earth’s, and the weight, in turn, is more than 7 times. The cosmic body turns around its own star in 20 hours. It is assumed that it was previously a gas giant, but a nearby star led to the evaporation of light surface elements, leaving only heavy ones, such as stones. Also, the planet is tidally locked, which is why it is turned to the star with only one side. On it, the temperature can rise to 4 thousand degrees, as a result of which the atmosphere of a cosmic body consists mostly of molten stone. That is, the illuminated side is a real ocean of magma, but stone rains fall on the dark side.
1. The loneliest planet
This loner is located at a distance of 96 billion km from its own star, so the light reaches the surface in 89 hours (in the case of the Earth and the Sun, this figure is only 8 minutes). The space object is a relatively young gas giant (about 13 million years old). First discovered 5 years ago in the constellation of the Southern Cross. It is XNUMX light-years away from us.
During the existence of our civilization, people have already counted several thousand exoplanets, and this number is replenished annually with new specimens, which allows us to learn about the Universe and its mysteries.