An exoplanet is a planet beyond our solar system that revolves around its own sun. “Hot Jupiters” are rare giant exoplanets...
...similar to our own Jupiter in the Solar System but with closer orbits to their stars. HD 189733b is one such giant.
HD 189733b has a dramatic blue hue from light scattering in the planet's atmosphere which is rich in particles of silicate.
A sunset viewed through the particles on the planet's surface, however, would appear red, much like a sunset on Earth.
The planet’s clouds of silicate mean it is covered in storms of glass shards flying sideways at 4,000 miles (6,400km) per hour.
These feirce glass storms rage above the surface, upon which temperatures can reach well over 1,800°F (980°C).
The extreme conditions on the planet are so hot, that it's quickly evaporating. This effect is causing the planet to lose up to...
...1.3 billion pounds (600-million kgs) of mass every second. NASA has since dubbed the glass storms the “Rains of Terror.”
Another planet beyond our solar system with terrifying weather is PSO J318.5-22. It has thick layers of liquid metal clouds.
These clouds are formed by what appear to be tiny droplets of melted iron which fall as a fiery molten rain.
The planet is roughly the same size as Jupiter, and temperatures inside its volatile clouds exceed 1400°F (800°C).
Analysis of the planet from an observatory in Chile was the first study of weather on a planet outside our solar system.
Discovered in 2013, PSO J318.5-22 is a “rogue planet” as it doesn’t orbit around a star. It's assumed that it was...
...ejected from a prior stellar system or formed on its own in the void of space by a process that is still unknown.
It's known that it rains diamonds on Jupiter and that such showers may be very common in space. NASA's Kevin Baines estimates that...
...no less than 2.2 million pounds of diamonds are formed in space every year as methane converts to carbon to create the gems.
Even more precious rains may occur on HAT-P-7b, a distant Hot Jupiter that is one of the darkest planets ever observed.
Despite absorbing over 97% of the light that strikes it, a small shimmer has been seen forming on its “night” side.
The shimmer may be from swirling clouds that are infused with a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, otherwise known as corundum.
The mineral’s composition means it “rains rubies and sapphires” on HAT-P-7b, driven across the planet by ultra-strong winds.
Gliese 436 b is is considered to be one of the most exotic contradictions within the field of astrophysics and space study...
...as it is known to be a planet covered by flaming “solid” water, earning it the nickname “Planet of Burning Ice.”
The planet orbits a red-dwarf star called Gliese 436 in the constellation of Leo, and it revolves around its sun in just 2 days.
Even though it has a surface temperature of 822°F (439°F), the planet’s water ice manages to not boil away.
It's believed the ice remains packed solid due to the immense gravity originating from the planet’s extremely hot core.
This makes water on Gliese 436 b far denser than in ice found on Earth, and is likely how the ice “burns” yet doesn't evaporate.
HD 80606b is a final bizarre Hot Jupiter exoplanet that has the most eccentric orbit of any planetary body yet observed.
It barely stays teethered to its own sun, and the orbit brings it startlingly close to destruction every 111.4 Earth-days.
Extra radiation on its close passes mean its temperature more than doubles in six hours, from 980 to 2,240°F (or 527 to 1,227°C).
This is one of the biggest temperature swings observed on any planet. The increase in temperature is not entirely understood.
Scientists believe that the sudden blast of radiation causes something akin to an explosion in the atmosphere facing the star.
Shockwaves produce winds of 11,000 miles (17,700km) per hour as the planet’s spin creates giant storms that dissipate heat.
Astronomer Greg Laughlin of the University of California at Santa Cruz’s Lick Observatory said this about the weather:
“We watched the development of one of the fiercest storms in the galaxy,” explaining why NASA dubbed it “the hot-headed planet.”