What is beyond our solar system: the strangest and fascinating exoplanets

Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system, a system consisting of eight planets.

Our galaxy contains hundreds of billions of such foreign worlds and there are probably even more in other galaxies.

The challenge of detecting extrinsic

Although we know that the universe is full of exoplanets, we have only identified a small percentage of them. It is difficult to detect them because they are smaller, darker and cooler than the stars.

To identify, specialized techniques and sophisticated telescopes are required. Since the beginning of the millennium, we have been in a golden age of discoveries.

Kepler, Tess and more recently James Webb has offered huge opportunities to study these distant worlds.

Here are some of the most exciting distant neighbors on Earth According to Smisthonian Magazine.

The planet that started the revolution

HD 209458 B, a giant giant, was the first exoplanet to be found by the method of passage, that is, by the variation of light when passing in front of its star.

Its detection helped to begin the era of Kepler, the space telescope that discovered thousands of exoplanets.

Today, more than half of the well -known exoplanets have been discovered thanks to Kepler.

The planet of volcanic hell

The Exoplanet Toi-6713.01, located around the HD 104067 star, is one of the most volcanic active worlds we know.

The gravitational influence of its neighboring planets forces him to have an extremely eccentric trajectory, resulting in the production of inner heat and intense volcanic activity.

Temperatures on its surface are estimated to reach 2,600 Celvin, making it a world covered with lava and fire.

An ocean of lava

The Exoplanet 55 Cancri E is a rocky world that completes a complete rotation around its star in less than an earthy day.

The temperature on its surface exceeds 3,300 Celsius, enough to melt the rocks. Its surface is probably a vast lava ocean.

Despite the heat, the planet seems to maintain an atmosphere, a rare and impressive phenomenon for such hot worlds.

Planets like old woman’s wool

The Kepler-51 system hosts three over-flabby planets with a very low density, almost like old woman’s wool.

These planets are huge in size but very light, with subtle atmospheres that have withstood the radiation of their star.

Scientists are not yet aware of how they have been able to maintain their form and try to understand the phenomenon through theories such as photochemical fog.

The darkest planet

Tres-2 B is known as the darkest exoplanet.

It reflects less than 1% of the light it receives, which makes it more black than carbon. The absence of clouds and the presence of metal gases in its atmosphere seem to be responsible for the absolute darkness that covers it.

However, its inner heat can cause a light red shine from inside.

Hottest and of a star

The Kelt-9 B exoplanet is the hottest to date.

It is so close to its star-the young, overwhelming Kelt-9-that the temperature in the day reaches 4,300 ° C.

Its star is about twice as much and warmer than our sun, and emits strong ultraviolet radiation, which may once evaporate the planet completely if it does not swallow it first when it swells into a red giant.

Kelt-9 B was discovered in 2016, when he was found to cross in front of his star every 1.5 days. Its temperatures are so extreme that in its atmosphere they cannot survive common molecules such as water – on the contrary, it probably contains vaporized metals, as in the stars themselves.

The wandering planets

Some planets do not belong to any star; they roam the universe alone.

These so -called « stray » planets were either launched by their solar systems or formed directly from gases and dust.

Although difficult to identify, new techniques such as micro -struggle and thermal observations by James Webb have begun to reveal dozens – such as the 540s recently found in the Orion Nebula.

Estimates show that these lonely worlds may be multiple of stars tied, reaching a ratio of 7 to 1 in our galaxy. If, then we, the « lucky » we have sun, maybe we are the exception to the universe.

Looking at the stars

The study of the exoplanets not only reveals to us how other worlds are, but also how our land was shaped.

From worlds full of lava to planets with tails and atmospheres in extreme conditions, every exoplanet brings us a step closer to understanding the universe – and perhaps, in the end, to the big question: Are we alone?