The most mysterious planet in the solar system. The most unusual planets in the universe. J1407 b and her rings

Let's take a look at the most interesting facts about the planets of the solar system. Each of the planets is unique, they are all so different from each other that sometimes it seems that they can in no way belong to the same type of cosmic bodies.

1. The largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. Its diameter is almost 12 times the diameter of the Earth and is about 139 thousand km. And in order to fill Jupiter in volume, it will take almost 1322 planets Earth. The mass of Jupiter is 318 times that of the earth. In general, we still have to grow and grow before this giant.
2. For a long time, Pluto was considered the smallest planet in the solar system, but as new celestial bodies were discovered, it completely lost its planet status. Today, Pluto is considered a dwarf, that is, an asteroid, and cannot be called the smallest planet in the solar system. Now this record belongs to Mercury. The diameter of Mercury is only 38% of the diameter of the Earth, and its volume is almost 6% of the volume of our home.

   

3. The brightest planet in the solar system is Venus, its brightness is comparable to the brightness of stars. Only the Sun and Moon shine more strongly than Venus.

   

4. The fastest planet in the solar system is Mercury. A year on it lasts only about three Earth months. Perhaps the matter is in size, and maybe in proximity to the Sun, but no one knows the true reasons for such a speed - 172247 km / h.

   

5. The slowest planet in the solar system is Neptune, a year there is equal to 165 years on Earth. And life is not enough to live there for just one year.

   

6. The planet with the most moons is Jupiter. The number of its satellites is 63. In general, the number of satellites depends on the strength of the magnetic field, for Jupiter this strength is 12 times greater than that of the earth and it occupies 650 million km.

   

7. The planet with the smallest number of satellites is Venus; it simply does not have them.. And here again the whole thing is in the magnetic field, at Venus it is the weakest. Scientists have been struggling for many years to understand the cause of this phenomenon.

   

8. The coldest planet is Uranus, the temperature there never rises above -220 degrees. This cosmic body consists of hydrogen, helium and some metals, such a composition is quite conducive to maintaining prohibitively low temperatures. It’s even scary for a person to imagine such indicators!

   

9. The hottest planet is Venus, the temperature on it never drops below 460 degrees. This begs the question: why is not Mercury the hottest, because it is closest to the Sun? But there is one feature on Mercury, the run-up between the highest and lowest daily temperature is about 500 degrees, that is, the highest temperature is 440 degrees, and the lowest is -190 degrees. And the hotness of the planet is determined by the average temperature, for Venus this figure is 475 degrees.

   

10. The planet with the most rings is Saturn. It used to be thought that this was generally the only owner of rings, but with the development of optics and science in general, scientists found out that all four gas giants have rings, only Saturn has them the most noticeable. Saturn has 4 rings, and they are a lot of particles moving around it.

    

11. The planet with the largest atmosphere is Jupiter. It consists of hydrogen and helium and other minor impurities. It extends thousands of kilometers from its surface. Very significant changes are constantly taking place in it, such as all kinds of storms.
12. Jupiter is also the oldest planet in the solar system.. And it has been known to people since ancient times, as evidenced by many myths and legends.

    

13. The youngest planet is Earth. Scientists have found that it was formed much later than all others in the solar system.

    

14. The best studied planet is, despite the previous paragraph, the same Earth. After all, humanity has the opportunity to study the surface, and the atmosphere, and the bowels of our planet, which cannot be said at all about others in the solar system.

    

15. The most mysterious planet is Neptune. Only a single spacecraft managed to approach it at a distance useful for science. This was Voyager 2 in 1989. Therefore, there are still a huge number of questions regarding Neptune, for example, we cannot even say why it is painted in a bright blue color.

    

The universe is full of strange things. Recently, stars have been discovered that travel through the universe at ultra-high speeds. And in space, clouds were found that stretched for several light years, which smell like raspberries or rum. Space is fraught with many amazing and incredible things.

This article will focus on planets that are not quite ordinary in our understanding. We have more or less studied several planets of our solar system, they all have some common features, but also have many differences. And what can we say about planets on other star systems, which can be very different from ours.

These strange and mysterious planets outside the solar system have been discovered within the last decade or so.

Let's take a look at 10 most unusual planets outside the solar system.

#10

HD 209458b located at a distance of 153 light years from Earth in constellation Pegasus. It is estimated to be 30% more than Jupiter, and the diameter of its orbit is 1/8 of the diameter of the orbit Mercury, that's less than 10 million kilometers. Naturally, the temperature of this planet is very high: about 1250°C - 1500°C.

A striking feature of this planet is that this gas giant under the influence of high temperature and enormous pressure, it cannot hold its atmosphere. Various gases in the atmosphere overcome the gravitational field of the planet, accelerating to tremendous speeds.

All this makes HD 209458b a unique planet that has its own tail, consisting of a stream of planetary gases.

And, despite the fact that the evaporation of the planet is very active, it does not particularly affect the planet itself. It would take about a trillion years for the planet to completely evaporate.

#9

Stone Rain Planet (CoRoT-7 b)

It is a very unusual planet outside the solar system. Its distance from Earth is 489 light years. This is a super-Earth with a radius 1.5 times that of the Earth, but with a mass of about 7 times the mass Earth. This is due to the proximity of this planet to its luminary. CoRoT-7. It completes one revolution around the star in 20 Earth hours.

Most likely, before the planet was a gas giant, similar to ours Jupiter or Saturn, but due to the proximity to its star, all the light elements of the planet evaporated, while the heavy ones remained. Thus, it consists mainly of stone.

Due to the proximity of the planet to the star, it is tidally locked, i.e. always faces the star on one side. On the illuminated side, the surface temperature of the planet can reach up to 4000°C, while on the other side the temperature is 3500°C.

This temperature creates conditions for the appearance of an atmosphere consisting of molten stone (magma). Just imagine, the illuminated side of the planet is nothing more than a seething ocean of lava, with a burning atmosphere, which falls on the dark side of the planet like stone rain.

Our solar system itself is amazing and beautiful. Each planet is unique in its own way, it seems that we all know about them. But every year technology is getting better and astronomers are still making interesting discoveries by providing new facts about the planets. The school curriculum included information about the planets, as well as interesting facts about them. Then there were still 9 planets, but since 2006, the Astronomical Union excluded Pluto from this list. This is explained by the fact that this planet was too small in size and was very far from the sun. Now in its place is the planet Neptune. Oddly enough, the lightest planet is one of the giants - Saturn. There is a theory that if Saturn is placed in water, it will not sink. Of course, this statement cannot be confirmed in any way due to the impossibility of the experiment. There is a very curious fact about the Earth, the movement of the planet slows down every day, because of this, the Moon moves away from the Earth by 4 centimeters annually.

Let's look at each planet separately.

1. If we call the Earth a huge living organism, we will not be mistaken. Our planet is able to independently regulate the temperature, consume energy, renew itself and breathe.
2. The speed of our planet, although imperceptibly, is 107 km per hour.
3. The earth is compared to a metal ball, which is in a stone shell. The moon plays a key role in everything that concerns our planet. It is thanks to her that there are suitable climatic conditions on earth, which allows us all to exist.
4. It is very interesting that gravity in some parts of the planet is lower or higher than in others. This will make you feel like you are heavier or lighter in certain parts of the world. For example, in India, gravity is lower than in the southern part of the ocean. Scientists still cannot explain why this happens. This fact became known when in 2002 NASA launched the GRACE satellite, which measures the gravitational field. It seems that in the future, the Earth will open its secret veils even more.
5. Some researchers claim that the earth once had two satellites, that is, two moons.

Mercury closest to the sun

1. The planet, compared to others, is very fast, which is why it got its name in the name of the Roman fleet-footed god Mercury.
2. The size of the planet did not come out, it is no larger than the moon, the equator is only 4879 km.
3. Some scientists believe that Mercury was once a satellite of Venus, but, as a result of a certain cosmic catastrophe, “escaped” and acquired its own orbit.
4. 1 day on the planet is equal to 176 Earth days, and the year is only 88 days.
5. An amazing phenomenon can be observed on Mercury: two sunrises and two sunsets. In a certain place you can watch three sunrises and three sunsets.

Planet Venus - Evening Star

1. A day on this planet is longer than a year. One day is 243 ours, and a year is 225 days.
2. During sunset, you can see the shadow of Venus. It can be seen for only a few hours, which is why it was called the Evening Star.
3. It is very cloudy on this planet - that the sun cannot be seen through them. Rain is made up of sulfuric acid.
4. Venus is the hottest planet, the temperature reaches 475 degrees Celsius. For example, lead melts at 327 degrees.
5. Life is impossible on this planet, for one main reason - the atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide.

Red planet - Mars

1. The planet got its name in honor of the Roman god of war Mars, just like the blood and the planet are of the same color.
2. The highest Mount Olympus in the solar system is on this planet. The height of the mountain reaches 27.4 km.
3. It is impossible to be on Mars without a space suit. Very strong pressure can turn blood into gas bubbles.
4. The lethal doses of radiation to which the planet is exposed also make life on Mars impossible. Radiations occur due to the absence of the ozone layer.
5. Mars once had water. Scientists have discovered dried up riverbeds and some minerals that cannot appear without water.

Gas giant Jupiter

1. If the earth is a cherry tomato, then Jupiter is a watermelon. So you can compare these two planets. Jupiter could fit 1300 planets like our Earth.
2. Despite the fact that Jupiter is a giant planet, it is also a fast planet itself. Jupiter rotates around its axis in 20 hours. But around the sun 12 years.
3. Jupiter has the largest number of satellites, there are only 60 of them, maybe more. All satellites rotate in the opposite direction of the planet.
4. There is a huge red spot on the planet, which is nothing but an anticyclone. It appeared about 400 years ago, and maybe more. It was discovered by astronomer J. Cassini in 1665, then its dimensions are determined by tens of thousands of kilometers in length and width. Now the spot has almost halved.
5. Jupiter knows how to "speak." The planet makes very strange sounds, similar to speech. They are called electromagnetic voices.

Amazing planet - Saturn

1. Telescopes are not needed to see the planet. It is enough to look at the sky on a clear night, the brightest star is Saturn.
2. Saturn is the most beautiful planet in the solar system. The surface of the planet has a blue tint, the rings are bright and truly beautiful.
3. Bad weather in Saturn is a frequent guest. They are similar to earth, only much stronger. During bad weather, huge funnels form on the surface of the planet.
4. The spacecraft, which was sent to study Saturn, was able to remove the rarest phenomenon - the northern lights. Prior to this, the northern lights were observed on the ground.
5. No matter how beautiful the planet is, it is not suitable for people. Since hydrogen is first in liquid, then it turns into a solid state, which means a terrible death for any person who gets there - to be flattened.

Green planet Uranus

Beauty and horror from distant galaxies.

Who among us has not dreamed of seeing other worlds someday! In particular, this is why we love watching movies and reading books with a fantastic plot so much. And while we can't go on a space trip right now, thanks to modern technology, we have the ability to look millions of light-years ahead. Get ready to see the most interesting planets discovered by Earth scientists.

Just a warning: all the pictures below are not photographs. Unfortunately, people have not yet invented such powerful optical devices.

Eternal night

I don’t know about you, but we love the sun very much. And imagine, not everyone could be as lucky as us! Planet TrES-2 b is considered the darkest known to science. The giant gas giant was discovered in 2006, but still attracts the attention of astronomers.

It only reflects light by 4%, which makes it look more like a black hole in the sky than a planet.

Despite the fact that TrES-2 b orbits a sun-like star, its surface will most likely always be very dark.

Planet with two faces

55 Cancri e belongs to the Super Earth group - which means that it is quite possible to walk along it if gravity does not crush you. True, we do not recommend doing this on the sunny side. Due to the peculiarities of the force of gravity, one half of this planet is always facing the star, so lava flows rage on it around the clock.

But on the night side - always silence, darkness and cold.

It is noteworthy that the heat from the solar part does not move to the other side. Lava that can fall "into the night" freezes there almost immediately. If you've ever wanted to go to a place where you can have one foot in daylight and the other at night, then this beauty is for you.

The main thing is to put on a heat-resistant spacesuit!

glass rain

Space travelers beware! This beautiful blue planet is fraught with terrible danger.

Just imagine: it is constantly raining glass on its surface!

The gas giant planet was discovered in 2004. A beautiful color is given to it by the silicates of which it consists - they refract light in the blue spectrum, hence such an appearance.

This planet is a real imp from a still pool: it only seems cool. In fact, its surface temperature is above 1000 degrees Celsius.

So I do not advise you to fly there if life is expensive.

zombie planet

Yes, there are whole dead earth-like worlds. Here it is, a planet with a complex name PSR B1257+12 b. She has been compared to zombies due to her resemblance to dying pulsar stars. They were named so because when they die, they put on a whole light show of pulsating particles.

This planet is also dying, only it is not emitting light, but gravitational waves. And at the same time publishes something like Morse code.

Luckily planets can't eat brains - that would be too creepy. And this is one of the first planets discovered outside the solar system - can you imagine what a shock astronomers were when they recorded this!

Hot stuff

Can you imagine: there is a planet with a surface hotter than the sun! And it belongs to the earth-like group. This is the famous Kepler-70b.

It’s easy to fry on it, so we hope that you don’t risk doing it.

Space holds many strange and amazing things. And sometimes scientists discover planets around other stars that can amaze any imagination, even as rich as science fiction. Among them there are truly hellish planets, the conditions on which are so terrible that nothing alive can survive there even for a fraction of a second. Some of them will be discussed today.

At a distance of 63 light-years from us, in the constellation Chanterelles, this blue gas giant is located, which is slightly larger. There are many clouds in its atmosphere, but these are not at all the soft clouds of water vapor that we are used to. These clouds contain a pair of silicates, which we are accustomed to seeing in the form of sand. But on HD 189733 A b, due to the huge temperature of 930 degrees on the bright side, even the rock evaporates, forming those same clouds! The fact is that the planet is 30 times closer to its star than the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

On this hellish planet, terrifying winds blow at a speed of 2 km / s, that is, 6 times faster than the speed of sound. With such hurricanes and temperatures, you can imagine what a terrible place this is. But on the dark side, the temperature drops to “only” 425 degrees, and then precipitation in the form of glass from silicate-water clouds is quite possible.

Corot-7b - hellish planet with stone rain

This planet is also rightfully included in the list of the most hellish planets in the universe. She will greet the curious astronaut with a rain of rocks from clouds of evaporated rock.

This planet is also very close to its star, but it is not a gas giant, but a rocky ball, 1.5 Earth in size. At the same time, the mass of Corot-7b exceeds the earth's by 7 times, that is, it is a very dense and heavy planet. And it's hot on it - the temperature on the surface reaches 2500-3000 degrees. This is enough to melt all the rock, so on the illuminated side of the planet, continuous lava oceans boil, and evaporation forms clouds.

However, the planet is turned to the star on one side, being in the so-called "gravitational capture", and on its dark side the temperature is much lower. Probably, there is a frozen lava surface covered with a thick layer of water ice. And in twilight zones, condensation of clouds with a rain of stones is quite possible.

Such a strange and terrifying planet, this Corot-7b. Perhaps this is not a planet at all, but the core of a gas giant such as Saturn, which has completely lost its atmosphere due to the proximity of the star, and now this red-hot stone remnant is circling around it.

Neptune is a hellish planet with terrifying hurricanes

Previous candidates are hellish planets outside the solar system, but Neptune is ours, so close and dear. Why is it so terrible that he can surprise us?

The fact is that record-breaking terrifying winds rage in the methane atmosphere of this gas giant, the speed of which reaches 2100 km / h! Of course, this makes it impossible for any penetration there. And the temperature in the center of the planet is even higher than on the surface of the Sun - 7000 degrees.

Kepler-78b - hellish planet with oceans of lava

The planet is located in the constellation Cygnus and is similar in size and mass to the Earth. However, this is where the similarity ends. The fact is that Kepler-78b is very close to its star - only 1.5 million kilometers separate them, which is extremely small. Even Mercury is 58 million kilometers away from the Sun!

Therefore, the planet is turned to the star on one side, and this side is heated to a terrifying 2800 degrees. Naturally, everything has melted there, and there are seething seas of lava, like on the planet Corot-7b. This is a very unpleasant place, moreover, the planet continues to approach the star and after 3 billion years it will completely fall on it, ending its painful existence in one short flash.

Osiris - a hellish planet with hypersonic winds

Osiris is an exoplanet located in the constellation Pegasus. It belongs to the class of "hot Jupiters", that is, it is the same gas giant, but hot. Constant winds of carbon monoxide on this planet reach speeds of 7000 km/h, which is many times greater than the speed of sound.

Osiris is located at a distance of only 7 million kilometers from the star and is turned to it on one side, heated to 1000 degrees. The other side is much colder, so a large temperature difference causes a constant movement of air masses at great speed.

All of these planets can rightfully be classified as hellish. On them, except for Neptune, terrifying temperatures reign, because of which everything that is possible evaporates. And for everyone - terrifying storms, against which any earthly hurricane, even the strongest, is just a light breath. Of course, even if people could get to these planets, there would be no question of landing there. Although it would be very interesting to study them from a short distance.