The most unusual planets in the universe. The most unusual planets in the universe (11 photos) Planet from Hell

(also called Osiris) was discovered in 1999. Osiris turned out to be the first exoplanet to be studied both using the Doppler spectroscopy method, when small shifts of lines in the star’s spectrum caused by the gravitational influence of the planet are measured, and using the so-called observation. transits, i.e. passages of the planet across the disk of the star. Using these observations, the mass and radius of the planet HD 209458 b were directly measured (albeit with low accuracy). The mass of Osiris turned out to be equal to 0.69 ± 0.05 the mass of Jupiter, the radius was 1.32 ± 0.25 of the radius of Jupiter. When observing the transits of Osiris in January 2006 with the space telescope. Spitzer at a wavelength of 24 μm () it was found that the radius of the planet is 1.30 ± 0.09 radii of Jupiter, which confirms and refines observations in visible light.
Osiris, as expected, turned out to be a gas giant - its average density is about 400 kg/cub.m.! This is 2.5 times less than the density of water. For seven years, this was the lowest average density among those planets for which this value is known, and only in September 2006 was the even less dense planet HAT-P-1 b discovered with an average density of 280 ± 60 kg/cub.m . For comparison, the average density of Saturn, the least dense planet in the solar system, is 690 kg/cub.m.
Osiris orbits the star HD 209458 at a distance of 0.045 AU. or 6.75 million km, which is less than 9 stellar radii. The visible disk of the star HD 209458 in the sky of Osiris is 26 times larger than the size of the solar disk in the sky of the Earth (and in area almost 650 times). The dazzling and scorching light of a nearby star heats the atmosphere of Osiris to 1200K with an albedo of less than 0.2 () Osiris is so hot that it itself glows with a dim crimson light.
On July 27, 2006, the results of observations of Osiris by the MOST space telescope were published. The planet's albedo turned out to be below 0.25 for light rays with a wavelength of 400-700 nm (this is the upper limit; the real albedo of Osiris may be even lower). For comparison, Jupiter's albedo is about 0.5. Osiris is a fairly dark planet, weakly reflecting the light of its star.
Observations () in the ultraviolet range (specifically, in the line of atomic hydrogen Lyman-alpha) showed that Osiris is losing matter at a rate of approximately 10 thousand tons per second. The size of the planet when observed in the Lyman alpha line is 4.3 Jupiter radii, which exceeds the size of the Roche lobe (for Osiris it is approximately 3.6 Jupiter radii). This suggests that the planet's hot atmosphere is evaporating and flowing into space with the formation of an asymmetrical hydrogen shell, reminiscent of a comet's tail.

At the same time, the current rate of mass loss by Osiris is not sufficient to significantly change its mass: losing 107 kg/sec, over 5 billion years Osiris would have lost only about 1.5 * 1024 kg, i.e. approximately 1/4 of the Earth's mass.

Osiris makes one revolution around its star in just 3.5 days. Due to its proximity to the star, its rotation around its axis is slowed down by tidal forces. There is no doubt that it revolves around the star in a 1:1 resonance, i.e. turned to the star with only one side. This leads to significant temperature contrasts across its disk. Numerical simulations carried out by various authors lead to similar results. According to (), the temperature difference between the day and night sides of the planet at a level of 0.1 atmospheres is 600 K, and according to (), the same difference at a pressure level of 0.3 atm. is 500K. However, at a depth corresponding to a pressure of 10 atmospheres, temperature contrasts are smoothed out.
Osiris is the planet of stormy and swift hot winds. Numerical models predict powerful superrotation in the equator region and wind speeds reaching 3-4 km/sec. Interestingly, in none of the models of the atmosphere of Osiris is the subsolar point the hottest place on the planet, just as the antisolar point is not the coldest place. According to (), the coolest areas on the planet are the zones of the poles, where permanent cyclonic-type vortices are formed. The hottest region is at the equator, displaced by strong equatorial winds from the subsolar point to about 60 degrees in longitude. Other models predict even more complex atmospheric circulation patterns.
Observations of the HD209458 system using the Space Infrared Telescope. Spitzer did not find a temperature contrast between the day and night hemispheres of Osiris. According to these observations, the average temperature of the planet is 1200K.
Using spectral observations, atoms of sodium (), carbon and oxygen () were discovered in the atmosphere of Osiris. However, most likely the main components of the atmosphere of Osiris are hydrogen and helium.

The future of Osiris is unenviable. Rotating around the star at a speed exceeding the speed of its axial rotation, it slowly approaches it under the influence of tidal forces. After some time, Osiris will fall onto a star, where he will end his existence.

Our Universe is full of amazing and inexplicable things. For example, today scientists have discovered hypervelocity stars that do not fall and are not meteorites, giant clouds of dust with the aroma of raspberries or smelling of rum. Astronomers have also discovered many interesting planets outside our solar system.

Osiris or HD 209458 b is an exoplanet near the star HD 209458 in the constellation Pegasus, located at a distance of more than 150 light years from Earth. HD 209458 b is one of the most studied exoplanets outside the Solar System. The radius of Osiris is close to 100,000 kilometers (1.4 times the radius of Jupiter), while the mass is only 0.7 that of Jupiter (approximately 1.3 1024 tons). The distance of the planet to the parent star is very small - only six million kilometers, so the period of its revolution around its star is close to 3 days.

Scientists have discovered a storm on the planet. It is assumed that there is a wind blowing from carbon monoxide (CO). The wind speed is approximately 2 km/s, or 7 thousand km/h (with possible variations from 5 to 10 thousand km/h). This means that the star quite strongly heats up the exoplanet located from it at a distance of only 1/8 of the distance between Mercury and the Sun, and the temperature of its surface facing the star reaches 1000°C. The other side, which never turns towards the star, is much cooler. The large temperature difference causes strong winds.

Astronomers were able to establish that Osiris is a comet planet, that is, a strong flow of gases constantly flows from it, which is blown away from the planet by the radiation of the star. At the current rate of evaporation, it is predicted that it will be completely destroyed within a trillion years. A study of the plume showed that the planet evaporates entirely - both light and heavy elements leave it.

The scientific name of the rock shower planet is COROT-7 b (previously it was called COROT-Exo-7 b). This mysterious planet is located in the constellation Monoceros at a distance of about 489 light years from Earth and is the first rocky planet discovered outside the solar system. Scientists speculate that COROT-7 b may be the rocky remnant of a gas giant the size of Saturn that was "evaporated" by the star to its core.

Scientists have found that on the illuminated side of the planet there is a vast lava ocean, which forms at a temperature of about +2500-2600°C. This is higher than the melting point of most known minerals. The planet's atmosphere consists mainly of evaporated rock, and deposits rocky sediments on the dark side and the light side. The planet is probably always facing the star with one side.

Conditions on the illuminated and unlit side of the planet are very different. While the illuminated side is a churning ocean in continuous convection, the unlit side is likely covered by a huge layer of ordinary water ice.

The planet Methuselah - PSR 1620-26 b, located in the constellation Scorpius at a distance of 12,400 light years from Earth, is one of the oldest exoplanets currently known. According to some estimates, its age is about 12.7 billion years. The planet Methuselah has a mass 2.5 times greater than Jupiter and orbits an unusual binary system, both components of which are burnt-out stars that have long completed their active evolutionary phase: a pulsar (B1620−26 A) and a white dwarf (PSR B1620−26 B). In addition to this, the system itself is located in the densely populated core of the globular star cluster M4.

A pulsar is a neutron star that rotates 100 times per second around its axis, emitting strictly periodic pulses in the radio range. The mass of its companion, a white dwarf, which manifests itself as a periodic violation of the accuracy of the “ticking” of the pulsar, is 3 times less than the Sun. The stars revolve around a common center of mass at a distance of 1 astronomical unit from each other. A full rotation occurs every 6 months.

Most likely, the planet Methuselah is a gas giant without a solid surface, like Earth. The exoplanet completes a full revolution around the binary star in 100 years, being located at a distance of about 3.4 billion kilometers from it, which is slightly greater than the distance between Uranus and the Sun. Born very early in the history of the Universe, PSR 1620-26 b appears to be almost devoid of elements such as carbon and oxygen. For this reason, it is very unlikely that there has ever been or is life on it.

Gliese 581c is an exoplanet in the planetary system of the star Gliese 581 at a distance of about 20 light years from our planet. Gliese 581c is the smallest planet ever discovered outside our system, but is 50 percent larger and 5 times more massive than Earth. The planet's rotation period around a star located at a distance of about 11 million kilometers is 13 Earth days. As a result, despite the fact that the star Gliese 581 is almost three times smaller than our Sun, in the sky of the planet its native sun looks 20 times larger than our star.

Although the exoplanet’s orbital parameters are located in the “habitable” zone, the conditions on it are more similar not to those on Earth, as was previously thought, but to the conditions on Venus. Substituting its known parameters into a computer model of the development of this planet, experts came to the conclusion that Gliese 581c, despite its mass, has a powerful atmosphere with a high content of methane and carbon dioxide, and the temperature on the surface reaches +100°C due to the greenhouse effect. So, apparently, there is no liquid water there.

Due to its proximity to the star Gliese 581 c, it is affected by tidal forces and can always be located on one side towards it or rotate in resonance, such as Mercury. Due to the fact that the planet is at the very bottom of the light spectrum we can see, the planet's sky is a hellish red color.

TrES-2b is the blackest planet known as of 2011. It turned out to be blacker than coal, as well as any planet or satellite in our solar system. Measurements showed that TrES-2b reflects less than one percent of incoming sunlight, less than even black acrylic paint or carbon black. Researchers explain that this gas giant lacks bright reflective clouds (like those found on Jupiter and Saturn) due to its very high surface temperature - more than 980°C. This is not surprising, given that the planet and its star are separated by only 4.8 million kilometers.

This planet is located about 760 light years from the solar system. It is almost the same size as Jupiter and orbits a star similar to the Sun. TrES-2b is tidally locked so that one side of the planet always faces the star.

Scientists speculate that TrES-2b's atmosphere likely contains light-absorbing substances, such as sodium and potassium vapor or titanium oxide gas. But even they cannot fully explain the intense blackness of the strange world. However, the planet is not completely pitch black. It is so hot that it produces a faint red light like a burning ember.

HD 106906 b - This gas giant, which is 11 times larger than Jupiter, is located in the constellation of the Southern Cross about 300 light-years from Earth and appeared approximately 13 million years ago. The planet orbits its star at a distance of 97 billion kilometers, which is 22 times the distance between the Sun and Neptune. This is such a great distance that light from the parent star reaches HD 106906 b only after 89 hours, while Earth receives sunlight after 8 minutes.

HD 106906 b is one of the loneliest known planets in the Universe. In addition, according to modern models of the formation of cosmic bodies, a planet cannot form at such a distance from its star, so scientists assume that this lone planet is a failed star.

HAT-P-1 b is an extrasolar planet orbiting the yellow dwarf ADS 16402 B, located 450 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lizard. It has the largest radius and lowest density of any known exoplanet.

HAT-P-1 b belongs to the class of hot Jupiters and has an orbital period of 4.465 days. Its mass is 60% of the mass of Jupiter, and its density is only 290 ± 30 kg/m³, which is more than three times less than the density of water. It is safe to say that HAT-P-1 is the lightest planet. Most likely, this exoplanet is a gas giant consisting mainly of hydrogen and helium.

A planet with an incredibly huge system of planetary rings

1SWASP J140747.93-394542.6 b or J1407 b for short is a planet that contains approximately 37 rings, each of which is tens of millions of kilometers in diameter. It revolves around a young solar-type star J1407, periodically covering the light of the star with its “sarafan” for a long period of time.

Scientists have not decided whether this planet is a gas giant or a brown dwarf, but it is definitely the only one in the system of its star and is located at a distance of 400 light years from Earth. The ring system of this planet is the first discovered outside the solar system and the largest known at the moment. Its rings are much larger and heavier than those of Saturn.

According to measurements, the radius of these rings is 90 million kilometers, and the total mass is a hundred times the mass of the Moon. For comparison: the radius of Saturn's rings is 80 thousand kilometers, and the mass, according to various estimates, ranges from 1/2000 to 1/650 of the mass of the Moon. If Saturn had similar rings, then we would see them at night from Earth with the naked eye, and this phenomenon would be much brighter than the full moon.

In addition, there is a visible gap between the rings, in which scientists believe a satellite was formed, whose rotation period around J1407b is about two years.

Gliese 436 b is an exoplanet located 33 light years from Earth and located in the constellation Leo. It is comparable in size to Neptune - 4 times larger than Earth and 22 times heavier. The planet orbits its parent star in 2.64 days.

The amazing thing about Gliese 436 b is that it is primarily composed of water, which remains in a solid state at high pressure and a surface temperature of 300°C - “burning ice”. This is due to the enormous gravitational force of the planet, which not only prevents water molecules from evaporating, but also compresses them, turning them into ice.

Gliese 436 b has an atmosphere composed primarily of helium. Observations of Gliese 436 b using the Hubble Space Telescope in the ultraviolet revealed a huge tail of hydrogen trailing behind the planet. The length of the tail reaches 50 times the diameter of the parent star Gliese 436.

55 Cancri e is a planet located in the constellation Cancer at a distance of about 40 light years from Earth. 55 Cancri e is 2 times larger than Earth in size and 8 times larger in mass. Because it is 64 times closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun, its year lasts only 18 hours, and the surface heats up to 2000°K.

The composition of the exoplanet is dominated by carbon, as well as its modifications - graphite and diamond. In this regard, scientists suggest that 1/3 of the planet consists of diamonds. According to preliminary calculations, their total volume exceeds the size of the Earth, and the cost of the subsoil of 55 Cancri e can be 26.9 nonillion (30 zeros) dollars. For example, the GDP of all countries on Earth is 74 trillion. (12 zeros) dollars.

Yes, many discoveries sound no more realistic than science fiction and turn all scientific ideas upside down. And we can confidently say that the most unusual planets are still waiting to be discovered and will surprise us more than once.

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The planet Osiris, which delighted scientists with its supersonic storms, turned out to be even more interesting. The gas giant resembles both a planet and a comet in its properties.

Various objects in the Universe, like politicians, appear on the pages of the media irregularly. And not because they do nothing, but solely because of the irregularity of publications. The gas giant HD 209458b from the constellation Pegasus, long known to astronomers, is lucky in this regard: in the scientific world it has become a newsmaker twice in a month.

At one time (in 1999), the planet, called Osiris, became the first to be discovered using the transit method. At the end of June 2010, Dutch scientists developed a new elegant method for determining the orbital speed of planets and showed that wild winds constantly blow on Osiris at the border of day and night. And now it has become clear that the planet’s proximity to its star is revealing to scientists a new type of previously unobserved object. In a paper by Jeffrey Linsky published in the Astrophysical Journal, scientists showed that Osiris is a "comet planet" with a distinctive tail of material oozing from it. Astronomers have noticed that depending on the transit phase, and therefore on the degree of participation of the planet’s atmosphere in the eclipse, the drop in the star’s brightness can vary from one and a half to eight percent.

To find out what is happening with the hot atmosphere of Osiris, scientists examined the planet using the highly sensitive COS (Cosmic Origins Spectrograph) spectrometer mounted on board the Hubble Orbital Telescope.

Astronomers compared the spectrum of the host star with the spectrum of the same star at the time of the planet's transit across its disk. Passing through the outer layers of the atmosphere, the spectrum of the star acquires characteristic absorption lines, from which one can judge the composition of the atmosphere and its speed. Measuring certain absorption lines of carbon and silicon made it possible to understand that a nearby star uniformly heats the dayside of Osiris and lifts heavy elements from the depths of the atmosphere, forcing them to leave the planet forever. “Since 2003, scientists have suggested that the loss of mass in such planets could lead to the formation of a tail. We think we have the best observational confirmation of this theory yet. We measured the speed of gas flowing from the planet at certain speeds towards Earth,” explained Lynskey, study author from the University of Colorado Boulder.

The spectrometer data also showed that atmospheric matter does not flow out of the planet at the same speed. “We discovered that the gas is flowing out at enormous speeds, most of it leaving the planet towards us at a speed of 30 thousand kilometers per hour. This stream of gas is most likely swept away by the stellar wind, forming a comet-like tail,” Linsky explained.

Roche cavity An imaginary three-dimensional surface around two gravitationally connected rotating bodies, the parameters of which are determined only by their masses and mutual distance. When the substance of one of them flows out of this region of space, the substance ceases to be gravitationally connected with it and is attracted by the second gravitating body.

Based on the data obtained, astronomers estimated the mass constantly being lost by Osiris. Based on the assumption that the planet's inflated atmosphere had expanded to the size of the critical Roche lobe, astronomers calculated that the annual mass loss was 2.4 * 10 18 g per year. According to scientists’ forecasts, this rate of “weight loss” is not critical for the planet; it may well live to the end of its star’s days. “It will take about a billion years for the planet to completely evaporate,” said Lynskey.

For thousands of years, astronomers could only explore the planets of our solar system. The first planets were discovered due to a strange movement in the night sky, different from other stars. The Greeks first called these “irregular stars” wanderers, using the old Greek word ‘planan’. The incredibly complex nature of planetary systems was first pointed out by Galileo, who examined Jupiter through a telescope and noticed how celestial bodies orbited the gas giant. In 1994, the first planet outside our solar system was discovered.

Dr. Alexander Wolschan observed unusual changes in the signal from the pulsar Beta Pictoris, proving the existence of several planets in orbit. Since then, at least 1,888 more exoplanets have been discovered, revolutionizing scientists' understanding of the cosmos, the way planets formed, and even the evolution of the universe over 13 billion years. The most unusual planets in the universe sometimes look more like science fiction than actual celestial bodies.

Like many other planets, Gliese 581C orbits its own red dwarf star. This means that the side facing the star is hot, while the dark side is permanently frozen. However, scientists suggest that part of Gliese 581C is habitable. This planet is one of the best candidates for human expansion. Living on such a surface can be like hell, because the red dwarf star constantly bombards the planet with infrared rays, but plants can get used to even such conditions.

HD 106906 b - The Loneliest Planet

This fascinating planet hangs out in the constellation Krax, approximately 300 light years from Earth. Eleven times the size of Jupiter, HD 106906 b has become a real discovery for modern astronomers. Despite its enormous size, the planet orbits its star at a distance 20 times the distance between the Sun and Neptune, which is approximately 60,000,000,000 miles. This makes it one of the loneliest known planets in the universe. Astrophysicists are amazed by this outlier because planets like Jupiter tend to be closer to their star. There is a hypothesis that HD 106906 b is a failed star, challenging the binary star theory.

TrES-2b: black hole planet

Close in size to Jupiter, the planet TrES-2b is located approximately 750 light-years away in the orbit of a sun-shaped star. It absorbs so much light that scientists consider it the darkest planet in the known universe. Despite being a Jupiter-class gas giant, it reflects less than 1 percent of light, as opposed to 33% for Jupiter. As a result, the planet is so dark that it is difficult to detect. However, TrES-2b is a fairly hot planet, emitting a dim reddish glow.

Planet Methuselah

The planet Methuselah is unusual in that it is about a billion years younger than the Universe. Such planets are known as PSR 1620-26 b. They are so old that traditional astrophysical models ignore it. Traditionally, it was believed that the planet could not be 13 billion years old due to the lack of materials in the universe to form it. Yet Methuselah is almost three times older than Earth and was formed just one billion years after the big bang. The planet moves among a spherical cluster of stars locked together by gravity in the constellation Scorpius. In the Methuselah cluster, it orbits a binary star system consisting of a white dwarf star and a pulsar.

Planet Osiris

Next on the list is the planet Osiris, which ignores the lessons of Icarus. This exoplanet is also known as HD 209458b. Osiris is located 150 light years away in the constellation Pegasus. Osiris is approximately 30% larger than Jupiter. Its orbit is one-eighth the distance from Mercury to the Sun, and the temperature of this planet is approximately 1.832 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat and pressure of this gas planet caused significant evaporation of various atmospheric gases, emanating from the planet's gravitational field, like air from an invisible balloon. Osiris has stunned astronomers and astrophysics experts who have discovered how hydrogen, oxygen and carbon are leaking from the planet. All this led to the emergence of a new type of classification - chthonic planets.

Planet CoRoT-7b

CoRoT-7b was the first rocky planet discovered in the orbit of another star. Astronomers believe it was once a giant gas planet similar to Saturn or Neptune, before atmospheric and gas levels were reduced by its close proximity to the star. Because the planet has only one side facing its star at all times, that side's temperature is 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, while the dark side is frozen at 350F. These conditions contribute to the occurrence of rock rains, when molten rocks rise into the atmosphere under the influence of gases and, solidifying, fall down.

Planet HAT-P-1

HAT-P-1 is larger than Uranus and floats in water. Only because of this can the planet be called unusual. Recently discovered by Harvard's Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, HAT-P-1 is a gas giant half the size of Jupiter. This incredible planet has sparked heated debate in the halls of academic astronomy. Classified as a "hot Jupiter," the planet is nearly 25% larger than any model estimates. Astrophysicists are desperately trying to find the reason why the planet has expanded beyond the established norm. Perhaps in the distant future, humanity will be able to travel 450 light years from Jupiter to find answers to all of its questions.

55 Cancri costs $26.9 nonillions

A super-Earth planet, 55 Cancri is roughly twice the size of Earth and has temperatures reaching 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit. 55 Cancri e was discovered in 2004. After several years of observation, astronomers believe that this large rocky planet is composed mainly of carbon transformed into diamond and graphite. According to the current market value of a diamond, 55 Cancri is worth $26.9 nonillion, which is approximately 384 quintillion times more than the Earth's current combined GDP of $74 trillion. According to Forbes, only 0.182% of 55 Cancri e is needed to pay off the total debt of all governments in the world, equal to $50 trillion. Investors should keep in mind that this potential mining project is only 40 light years away from Earth.

Planet J1407 b and its rings

Discovered in 2012, the planet J1407 b was only recently revealed to the public. It is 400 light-years from Earth and has a system of planetary rings that are 200 times the size of Saturn. The ring system of J1407 b is so large that if Saturn had rings of similar size, they would dominate Earth's sky and be much larger than the full moon. Scientists have observed gaps in ring systems and suggest that these are exomoons orbiting this exoplanet. The ring system is so large that astronomers observed a 56-day eclipse of the star around which J1407 b orbits. You can read about interesting mysteries of the Moon in a separate feed on LifeGlobe.

Gliese 436 b – Burning Ball of Ice

The last unusual planet on this list is classified according to the Gliese catalog and is labeled 436 b. Its size is approximately equal to the size of Neptune. Planet 436 b is about 20 times larger than Earth, but its orbit is only 4.3 million miles from its star, unlike Earth, which orbits 93 million miles from the Sun. The temperature on the Gliese 436 b is 822 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot ice is held on the planet by enormous gravitational forces. These forces prevent water molecules from evaporating and leaving the planet. Continue reading also about the planet Gloria, which some consider to be a twin of the Earth.