Adventures in Outer Space - The Universe’s Most Bizarre Exoplanets
The sight of a night sky full of stars must be one of the most heart-stirring and mind-boggling things we can experience as humans. The Earth seems so gargantuan in our eyes, that it is difficult to imagine anything that lies beyond our blue planet. Throughout the centuries, astronomy has been continuously showing us that our seemingly huge planet is nothing but the tiniest fragment floating in the middle of an endless void where galaxies are scattered here and there. While this mesmerizing universe perhaps may host other habitable planets such as our Earth, most of it is a quiet constellation of bizarre planets, devoid of any form of life.
Buckle up as we take you on a journey across some of the most bizarre exoplanets that have been discovered so far, from a planet where it rains glass sideways to a hot pink planet, the universe never ceases to tickle our brains.
HD 1897733b- Where the wind travels faster than sound and it rains glass sideways
This blue beauty sits 64 lightyears away from Earth and looks breathtaking from outer space. The blue color is not a reflection of water as is the case on Earth, it is a hazy atmosphere filled with clouds laced with silicate particles. This planet's beauty belies its terrifying fate for those who are unfortunate enough to tread its surface. Because this planet is so close to its star, the average temperature on it is a scorching 1300 degrees Celsius. The heat will not be your mere problem on this planet however, winds of unmatched speeds, a whopping 5,400 km/s (which equates to seven times the speed of sound) would spin you to death. This beautiful planet gets even deadlier, as it frequently rains shreds of glass, sideways. This is due to the silicate particles that evaporate under high temperatures and rain back on the surface of the planet.
HR 5183b- The Whiplash Planet
HR 5183b was discovered in 2019, it is a gas giant, three times bigger than the biggest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. It is located 102 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Virgo. However, what’s truly fascinating about HR 5183b is its orbitThis planet of gigantic dimensions takes an estimated 74 years to orbit its host star, HR 5183. It has been nicknamed the “whiplash” planet because it loiters on the outer edges of its system before slingshotting into the center and then going back again. If HR 5183- b was in our solar system, its highly elliptical orbit would take it from beyond Neptune to within the orbit of Jupiter.
Kepler 16b- Tatooine in Real Life
The concept of a planet orbiting two stars has long been downright far-fetched. Such a thing could only exist in someone’s imagination or in fiction. That is until Kepler-16 was discovered. This gas giant, about the size of Jupiter, is 200 light years away from earth and orbits two stars at the same time. It lies in the goldilocks zone of its stars, meaning that there is a possibility for it to have bodies of water. This planet resembles Tatooine, a desert planet in Star Wars, orbiting twin suns. Being on the surface of either of these planets would mean that any object or living being would have two shadows instead of one, going in different directions.
GJ504b- A Hot Pink Planet
Celestial bodies come in all sizes and colors, all of them dazzling in their own way. Planet GJ 504 b, which is a relatively recently formed planet dating back to a mere 100-200 million years (an astronomical equivalent to the blink of an eye), is a deep shade of magenta pink. This gas giant is giving astronomers a look at what the early stages of the formation of a gas giant look like. They look bright and pink.
WASP-121- Where it Rains Liquid Metal
WASP-121 b is a gas giant that was discovered in 2016 and is a literal hell hole. It is located 850 light years from the sun and so close to its star that temperatures on its surface can soar to a scorching 3300 degrees Celcius. This is hot enough for the metal to vaporize. This planet is home to aluminum clouds, which then result in scorching hot aluminum rain. It also rains ruby and sapphire.
The Qatar Exoplanet Survey
The Qatar Exoplanet Survey is an exoplanet search survey based in Qatar, and also has a site in New Mexico. They use a telescope with five 400 m cameras. Since 2010, they have discovered 10 exoplanets: Qatar 1b, Qatar 2b, Qatar 3b, Qatar 4b, Qatar 5b, Qatar 6b, Qatar 7b, Qatar 8b, Qatar 9b, and Qatar 10b.
