Top 8 Most Terrifying Planets in the Universe

Top 8 Most Terrifying Planets in the Universe

Astronomers have found a number of terrifying planets ranging from GJ 436b to Tres 4b and from CoRot-7b to Ogle 2005.

Humanity has identified a total of 3,730 confirmed exoplanets to date with nearly as many potential candidates in different parts of the universe. Astronomers have observed a huge variety among these heavenly bodies on the basis of their size and environment. Some of them lie in the habitable zones of their respective stars (like Earth) while others are incredibly close to their host stars which place them in the category of terrifying planets. Similarly, some of these exoplanets are in a deep freeze while others are composed of diamond. Following is a list of some of the most amazing and terrifying planets in the universe.  

CoRot-7b

CoRot-7b - terrifying planets

Regarded as a world of violent extremes with two hells in one place, CoRot-7b is tidally locked with its star. As a result, the temperature on the day side of the planet reaches up to 4,700o F while its other half stays bitter cold, where the temperature drops as low as -392o F. This terrifying planet experiences an extraordinarily intense sunrise because it is 60 times closer to its star than we are to our sun.

GJ 436b

This planet of burning ice is a miracle in itself because it holds water in the solid state despite being located merely at a distance of 2.5 million miles from its star (Mercury is 36 million miles away from the sun). According to the estimate of scientists, the temperature of this terrifying planet is somewhere in the range of 820o F but the strong gravitational force at the planet’s core enables the water molecules to arrange themselves in a denser, crystalline structure (Ice VII).

55 Cancri E

55 Cancri E - terrifying planets

A carbon-based atmosphere with extreme levels of heat and pressure has compressed the one-third of this exoplanet into diamond. The current value of 55 Cancri E is around 26.9 x 1030 dollars. The close proximity to its star means that water cannot exist in a liquid state on this planet. Therefore, it adopts a supercritical behavior somewhere between a liquid and a gas.

Wasp 12b

Wasp 12b - Terrifying planets

Astronomers consider Wasp 12b a doomed world because its host star is consuming this terrifying planet at a rate of 189 quadrillion tons per year. At this rate, this exoplanet will be completely consumed in the next 10 million years, which is a really small duration in astronomical terms. In addition to the ripping apart effect of its sun, the planet itself is playing an important role in consumption as it absorbs 94% of the light. That’s the reason why it is called “black as asphalt”.

Ogle 2005

Often known as a frozen wasteland, Ogle 2005 orbits a red dwarf star at a distance of 20,000 light-years from the Earth. It is one of the coldest known exoplanets in the universe with a surface temperature of -364o F because it is too far away from its star. Most of this planet’s surface is covered in a thick layer of ice including glaciers and giant mountains of ice. These chilling conditions would instantly turn any form of life into a frozen ice cube.

Psr B1620-26b

Psr B1620-26b is nearly as old as the universe with an estimated age of 13 billion years. Scientists believe that it formed merely a billion years after the birth of the universe around a young star. The orbiting neighborhood of this exoplanet is extremely rough for survival because the burned-out host star is engulfed in the core of a cluster of more than 100,000 stars.

Tres 4b

Tres 4b is among the largest exoplanets discovered so far but has a ‘puffy surface’ due to its incredibly low density. Nearly twice as big as Jupiter, the planet has the density of cork. Astronomers believe that close proximity (4.5 million miles) to the star generates the level of heat that is needed to cause such an extreme effect. This terrifying planet is located in the Hercules constellation and completes the orbit around its star in just 3 Earth days.

Kepler 78b

Kepler 78b - terrifying planets

It is very much similar to our planet when it comes to its size but is insanely close to its star (just 550,000 miles away). What this means is that Kepler 78b is 40 times closer its host star than Mercury is to the sun. As a result, the temperature on this planet reaches up to a breathtaking 3680o F. For this reason, this ‘lava planet’ makes it to this list of terrifying planets.

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