10 Planet Discoveries That SCARE Astronomers | Space Discoveries

Space is full of mysteries, and one of its biggest ones is the existence of these planets. Welcome to our channel. And today we'll be taking a look at the 10 strangest planets discovered in space. Number 10. Kepler-10b We're kicking off our countdown with Kepler-10b. Kepler-10b is the first confirmed terrestrial planet to be discovered outside of the solar system by the Kepler Space Telescope, discovered after several months of data collection during the course of the NASA-directed Kepler mission, which aims to discover Earth-like planets crossing in front of their host stars. The planet's discovery was announced on January 10, 2011. It's also noteworthy for being the smallest exoplanet discovered so far, being only 1.4 times larger than Earth. It's a rocky world, but it's not located in the so-called habitable zone, a region in the planetary system where liquid water can potentially exist on the planet's surface. Kepler-10b orbits its parent star once every 0.84 days, which means it's more than 20 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our sun, which places it outside the parameters of the habitable zone. Number 9. Trappist-1b In the ninth spot of our list, we have Trappist-1b, a planet that has beaten most of our planets in the moon department, as it has six bright red moons in the sky that, ironically, aren't actually moons, but instead six large worlds reflecting light, three of which are within the system's habitable zone. The planet is extremely hot, and estimated to have, along with the other planets in its intriguing solar system, a combined figure of 250 times more water than we do here on Earth. Planets in this system might be up to 5% water, while our planet is only 0.2% water. At least two of Trappist's planets are thought to have liquid water, whereas water on Trappist-1b would be in vapor form. This planet is also a rocky world like Earth. Number 8. J1407b Also known as Super Saturn, this planet is extremely intriguing due to how it looks. The celestial body, located just 434 light years away, has a mass of about 40 times the size of Jupiter, and has 37 rings surrounding it which span nearly 120 million kilometers, 200 times the size of Saturn's rings. However, these rings may be the formations of moons, a process which has never been observed outside our solar system. The planet is only 13 million years old, just a baby when you consider that the universe is over 14 billion years old, and still baffling scientists to this day. Exoplanets reveal themselves in their host star's light. If a planet passes directly in front of its host star as observed from Earth, then the planet will block part of the star's light, and it will appear as though the star has momentarily dimmed. But in 2007, the young star 1SWASP J140747.93-394542.6, it showed a complex series of dimmings that lasted 56 days, which is how scientists found out about its absolutely crazy ring system that puts our dear Saturn to shame. Number 7. COROT-7b In the 7th spot of our list, we have COROT-7b, a planet with such short orbital period that it revolves around its host star in just 20 hours. COROT-7b was found by observing its parent star's periodic decrease in apparent magnitude caused by the planet's transit in front of the star as seen from Earth. On top of that, the sunrise here is the most intense in the whole universe, as it's 60 times closer to its star than we are to the Sun. COROT-7b's star is 360 times larger in the sky. On its day side, the planet can reach 4,700 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt and vaporize rock. Condensation during cooler fronts causes pebbles to form and then rocks to rain down. Theoretical models have also given the planet boiling oceans and lava. This planet's locked into position with its fire and brimstone half always facing the Sun. The other one is so cold that it can reach negative 392 degrees Fahrenheit. So either way, you'll die on both sides of it. Definitely not a cool place to live. Number 6. GJ436b This planet is a physical contradiction. Its temperature is about 822 degrees Fahrenheit, certainly hot enough to evaporate water. And yet this planet is so fascinating precisely because its water remains in solid form. That is, GJ436b is a planet of burning ice. This isn't the kind of ice you find here on Earth, but rather a special one called Ice 7 that results when it has a denser and more crystalline structure. Scientists believe this ice formed due to the strong gravitational force at the planet's core. On top of that, its outer layer of hydrogen and helium gas should result in higher levels of methane. Yet scientists are seeing over 7,000 times less methane than what should exist on the planet. Instead, there are huge quantities of carbon monoxide, which may come from the planet's core where the temperatures are smoking hot. Yep, this is a planet of ice that's also on fire. Number 5. Wasp 12b In the fifth spot on our list, we have Wasp 12b, a planet that's notorious for being elongated in a really strange shape due to the gravity of its parent star and its effect on it. The planet is estimated to have only 10 million years left to live as it gets ripped apart and consumed by its sun at a rate of about 189 quadrillion times every year. Wasp 12b is also a pitch black planet as it absorbs instead of reflecting light, so it's literally as black as the blackest tar. Number 4. HD 106906 b It was originally suggested that the planet known as HD 106906 b shouldn't exist due to its size and distance from its star. The giant planet is 650 times the distance from Earth to the Sun and is 11 times the size of Jupiter. However, the average temperature on the planet is a staggering 1500 degrees Celsius despite its vast distance from its host star. The discovery team and astronomers worldwide were puzzled by HD 106906 b's extreme separation from its host star because it's not considered possible that a star's disk could be extensive enough to permit formation of gas giants at such distance. This planet also caused quite a bit of controversy, even causing a petition to be launched asking the International Astronomical Union to name it Gallifrey after the homeworld of the doctor on the British science fiction series Doctor Who. The petition gathered over 139,000 signatures. On January 2014, however, it was agreed by the IAU not to accept the petition's goal to name it Gallifrey, as the petition did not follow the public policy of the IAU that a discussion between the public and IAU should be started before naming any spatial entity, and that this policy was not respected. Number 3. 55 Cancery E In the third spot on our list we have 55 Cancery E, a planet almost everyone on Earth would love if they could just traverse 40 light years to it. The planet is one-third diamond, a result of an atmosphere that's mostly carbon, allowing the heat and pressure from both its sun and its interior to compress the planet's mass into diamond. Scientists valued the planet to be around $26.99 million due to the sheer amount of diamonds here. This planet is tidally locked, which means that it has one side of the planet always facing the sun while the other is in perpetual darkness. Number 2. Kepler-70b We've seen blistering hot planets on this list, but none are as absolutely scorching as Kepler-70b, the hottest planet in the universe. The exoplanet has an orbit period shorter than any exoplanet known to date, with an orbit period of 5.76 hours. It's about 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit and is slowly vaporizing, doomed as much as its dead star. You definitely do not want to come here unless you want to be instantly incinerated upon setting a foot on it. And finally, Number 1. Kepler-16b This is one of the few known circumbinary planets, which means that it circles around two stars, similar to Luke Skywalker's home planet in Star Wars. However, this planet is cold, gaseous, and probably deadly to all lifeforms. The discovery of a circumbinary planet was hinted at and then confirmed with the observations of brightness of the dual star system being dimmed by a planet's transit in front of it. Its discovery confirms a new class of planetary systems that could harbor life, as most stars in our galaxy are part of a binary system. This means the opportunities for life are much broader than if planets form only around single stars. So what do you think about these super strange planets found in space? Let us know in the comments. Also, make sure to leave us a like and subscribe for more great videos like today. Thanks for watching!