NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered a hell-like planet, clouds, and rain lava. Learn more details about this strange space rock.
If we have learned anything from the various space exploration missions conducted by NASA, it is that the universe can be extremely strange. Strange even. We have discovered exoplanets (planets orbiting a star outside the solar system) that are so strange that their very description surpasses the imagination. We know about HD 189773b, where it rains glass, GJ 1214b, where there is no land and only oceans in abundance, and now we have found an exoplanet that would fit exactly into the biblical description of hell. This exoplanet is constantly burning and so hot that its oceans have turned into lava. It gets even weirder. Read on to find out. Read also: NASA: An asteroid larger than the Colosseum in Rome is approaching Earth; Guess the chances of an asteroid impact
NASA discovers a hell-like planet where clouds of lava
The planet in question is 55 Cancri e, also known as Janssen. The exoplanet orbits a star called Copernicus at about 41 light-years, according to NASA. In terms of astronomical distances, this can be considered a close neighbor. The interesting thing about this planet is that it is extremely close to its star. For reference, this is about 1/25 of the distance between the Sun and Mercury. And this close proximity is the reason this planet is called the planet-hell. Read also: Great video from NASA: See the mesmerizing view of the clouds of Jupiter, taken at 210,000 km / h by Juneau
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“At surface temperatures well above the melting point of typical rock-forming minerals, the daily side of the planet is thought to be covered with oceans of lava,” NASA said. “Imagine if the Earth was much, much closer to the Sun. So close that it only lasts a few hours a year. So close that gravity locked one hemisphere in constant blazing daylight and the other in endless darkness. So close that the oceans are boiling, the rocks are beginning to melt, and the clouds are pouring lava. Nothing like this exists in our solar system, “he added.
Another interesting thing about the planet Jansen is that it is supposed to be tidal locked, but the hottest point on it is not the hemisphere facing the star. A proposed theory for dealing with this anomaly is that the planet has a dynamic atmosphere that rotates and thus it continues to displace the hottest spot on the planet.
Researchers now plan to use the James Webb Space Telescope to observe the exoplanet and determine if its atmosphere contains oxygen or nitrogen. Interestingly, despite its hellish conditions, this is not the hottest exoplanet we know. KELT-9b receives this recognition. According to NASA, this exoplanet is so hot that even molecules cannot remain intact on its daily side and break down into atoms, making any solid structure completely impossible.
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