5 of the Most Bizarre Planets Beyond Our Solar System of All Time

The universe is a massive place that we, despite all our technological advances, have only just begun to explore. What we have explored, however, has taught us that such a large place has equally large amounts of oddities within it. Gathered here are 5 of the most bizarre planets found beyond our solar system.

Number 5: WASP-107B: The Cotton Candy Planet

Discovered in 2017 by the eponymous Wide Angle Search for Planets consortium, WASP-107B is an exoplanet discovered 200 light years away from Earth in the Vigo constellation. It has the unique distinction of being the first exoplanet discovered with helium on it which lends itself to the reason it's on this list.

Due to WASP-107B having an atmosphere comparable to Neptune on a planet around the size of its much larger brother Jupiter, the helium-rich atmosphere has been described by scientists as "fluffy", often being compared to cotton candy. However, eating or playing with it is ill-advised due to a surface temperature of 932 degrees fahrenheit.

Number 4: WASP-12B: The Boiled Egg Planet

Speaking of heat, this next planet from the same consortium serves as a rather grim reminder of how gravity and thermodynamics work.

Discovered in 2007, WASP-12B is the bearer of two distinct honors. The first being that it is the first carbon-rich exoplanet observed by scientists, having more carbon within its atmosphere than our own sun.

The second is that it is the first planet to be observed in the process of being "devoured" by its own star.

Due to its close orbit, not only does WASP-12B boast a surface temperature of more than 5000 degrees fahrenheit, but the gravitational forces exerted upon it by this close orbit are so intense that the planet has been warped into an egg-like shape by them in addition to rapidly losing its atmosphere. Scientists predict that WASP-12B will eventually be fully consumed in around 10 million years.

Number 3: HR 5183 b: The Whiplash Planet

If WASP-12B is a reminder of how destructive gravity can be, than HR 5183 b is a reminder of how utterly bizarre it can be as well.

This 2019 discovery is three times the mass of Jupiter with an orbit that has earned it the moniker of the "Whiplash Planet" among certain scientists. 

"(HR 5183B) spends most of its time loitering in the outer part of its star's planetary system in this highly eccentric orbit, then it starts to accelerate in and does a slingshot around its star..." Caltech Professor of Astronomy Andrew Howard said, hypothesizing that the cause of the planet's unique orbit is the receiving of a gravitational "kick" from a former neighboring planet.

Number 2: TrES-2b: The Darkest Planet

Are you afraid of the dark? If so, this planet found in 2006 is one you definitely want to avoid.

 When NASA's Kepler space telescope observed TrES-2b on its 2009 mission, it was discovered that the gas giant reflects less than 1% of all light that hits it, making it even darker than acrylic paint. As to why, scientists do not have a solid explanation though a prevalent theory is an abundance of light-absorbing chemicals in the atmosphere, possibly ones unknown to science.

Number 1: HD-189733b: The Glass Whirlwind Planet

Rounding the list off is a planet with a surface that can only be described as "hellish" to the point where NASA included it in their "Galaxy of Horrors" collection along with the aforementioned TrES-2B.

While it may look idyllic in this artistic representation, the winds of this 2005 discovery blow around a whopping 4,500 miles per hour on its gaseous 2,000 degrees fahrenheit surface and pack a nasty punch.

This "punch" being the sillicate particles saturated throughout HD-19733b's atmosphere which, in addition to giving the planet its blue tint, are heated into molten glass by the temperature and are then tossed about in its raging winds.

In other words, it constantly rains molten glass sideways on this planet.

(All images belong to NASA and their own creators)