Most Extreme Exoplanets Ever Discovered
Hi again to our Cosmic Corner! Have you ever looked up at the stars and asked yourself, “What are those crazy worlds I’m sure are hanging out somewhere in the universe?” Well, today we’ll explore the wildest and wackiest exoplanets that will blow your mind!
For decades, astronomers have been studying exoplanets and trying to figure out how many different types of worlds could exist. With every new exoplanet found, we learn a little bit more about how crazy the universe can be. Exoplanets, no matter if they’re burning up fast, super dense, or so close to their star that they make an orbit in less than one hour, show us the extremes that are possible in space.
Extreme Worlds #1 – Blazing Hot KELT-9b
KELT-9b is the hottest exoplanet discovered yet! At 4,600 Kelvin (over 4,300 degrees C), it’s hotter than many stars! And it’s got a surface so hot that its atmosphere is being stripped away by the star’s incredible radiation! The surface of KELT-9b is so hot that the metal iron vaporizes in its atmosphere! On the day side of KELT-9b, temperatures melt rocks; on the night side, powerful winds zip through the air at thousands of kilometers an hour!
Extreme Worlds #2 – The Ultra-Dense Giant – HD 149026b
On the opposite side of things, we discover HD 149026b. It’s an extremely dense exoplanet that is a whopping 70 times the mass of Earth. Imagine a massive core encased within a vast envelope of gas from a giant planet. HD 149026b defies our expectations of how a planet forms and suggests that possible planets build a huge core of heavy elements before collecting a thick atmosphere.
Extreme Worlds #3 – Fastest Spinning Planet – WASP-19b
If speed is your thing, then you won’t want to miss WASP-19b. This exoplanet completes one orbit of its star in only 18.9 hours—much faster than one Earth day! In fact, WASP-19b is in such close proximity to its star that it’s tidally locked—always facing the same direction toward the star. The gravitational pull of the star forces WASP-19b closer and closer to the star and eventually will lead to the exoplanet’s demise within cosmic time scales.
Extreme Worlds #4 – Planet with Most Eccentric Orbit – HD 80606b
HD 80606b surpasses the typical elliptical orbits of most exoplanets. Its orbit is shaped like a parabola, taking it from a very close distance to a distant point from its star. This feature means the temperature of HD 80606b can swing as high as 700°C between its closest point to the star and its farthest. It’s essentially a cosmic weather forecast that changes drastically with each 111-day orbit of the exoplanet.
Extreme Worlds #5 – Lonely Nomad – PSO J318.5-22
Not all planets orbit a star. PSO J318.5-22 is an interesting example of a free roaming planet. It doesn’t have a star to call home and instead travels alone in the galaxy, using leftover energy from when it was younger to glow. It’s a very lonely existence for a planet to wander through the dark expanse of space. A cosmic vagabond drifting aimlessly through the vastness of space.
Each of these extreme exoplanets is pushing the limits of astronomers’ knowledge of planetary systems, atmospheres, and the possible and impossible conditions for the development of life. Each discovery is teaching us to think creatively about how many different worlds can exist in our universe.
Thanks again for joining me on this cosmic trip to the edge of space and reality! Next week we’ll visit the search for planets similar to Earth in habitable zones – the perfect places where life as we know it could thrive.