Extrasolar planets, or sometimes addressed as exoplanets, are extraterrestrial bodies that lies outside of the solar system. For now, we have a rather slim chance to find Earth's doppelganger. From Kepler Mission to Hubble Space Telescope, NASA and the other leading observatories have sent search parties throughout the decades. All with the objective of finding signs of life and in a hunt for another Earth. Yet what we find might be an exceptionally hostile world. Astronomers have uncovered billions of planets that humans will never be able to set foot on. So here's 5 of them;
1. A Black World
Picture: TrES-2b in hypothetical view. (Credit: NASA)
NASA has recently discovered the darkest known planet in the universe. 702 light years away from Earth, TrES-2b orbits around its G-dwarf star, TrES-2. Dubbed as 'planet of eternal night', this planet absorbs more than 98% of the light shine upon it. Not only you would arrive in an onyx black world, the atmosphere is also as hot as lava. Therefore making your arrival indescribably unwelcomed.
Reference:
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. (2011). Alien World is Blacker than Coal. Retrieved from:
2. Rain of Broken Glass
Picture: HD 189733 b observed by ESO/M. Kornmesser.
What a friendly-looking planet; tropical blue with clouds! Unfortunately, it's not as friendly as it looks. The blue color comes from a foggy atmosphere containing silicate. The same element in glass. And inside those clouds are howling storms. If you ever manage to explore space, don't go here. Scientists said this planet may have rained shreds of glasses. With an estimated 2km/s wind blowing towards you, there are high chances you would come back with millions of cuts in your skin.
Reference:
Loff, S. (2016). Rains of Terror on Exoplanet HD 189733b. Retrieved from:
3. Scorching Hot
Picture: WASP-12 b as modeled by NASA. (Credit: VTAD)
Egg shaped and incredibly hot; this planet is slowly being destroyed by the heat of its star, WASP-12. The shape of this planet was caused by the gravitational effect of its star. The difference of the field strength caused this planet to be stretched in an undistributed fashion. Located closer to its star than the Mercury is to our sun, it's not surprising that its temperature exceeds 2,200 degrees Celsius, which is 4.7 times hotter than Venus. NASA calculate that this planet will vanish completely in 10 million years.
Reference:
NASA (2020). WASP-12b 3D Model. Retrieved from:
4. Zombie Planets
Picture: PSR B1257+12 b as observed by NASA.
Discovered in 1994, PSR B1257+12 along with its other planet siblings were known to be orbiting a pulsar; a dead star that came back to life. Named Poltergeist, Phobetor, and Draugr, these planets constantly absorb radiation from pulsar's core. Making this area of the galaxy deadly for humans.
Reference:
NASA (2020). PSR B1257+12 b. Retrieved from:
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exoplanet-catalog/7134/psr-b125712-b/
5. A Planet with Two Stars
If you're looking for a setting of Tatooine, Luke Skywalker's home (Star Wars, anyone?), then consider Kepler-16b. That is, if it's a bit more warmer. Unlike the previous planets, this one is not so deadly. Despite having two suns, it's a bit cold because of its distances from them. It also doesn't help that these two suns are cooler than your average stars. The planet is the first to be found to orbit two stars at once. This discovery was made in 2011 by Sir Borucki. Since then, NASA have found that this circumbinary system is quite common in our universe. Now, there has even been a talk of Triple Stars in One System!
Reference:
NASA (2020). Kepler-16b. Retrieved from:
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/exoplanet-catalog/1814/kepler-16b/
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