STRANGE ALIEN WORLDS: PLANET WITH BURNING ICE

Image: Pixabay

Universe is filled with strange stars and scientists have come across many while searching for signs of life

Image: Screengrab from video by @CatBadenX

One of these planets is Gliese 436 b, which is just 33 light-years away from Earth towards the constellation of Leo

Image: NASA

Gliese 436 b is a Neptune-sized exoplanet that orbits a red dwarf that is cooler, smaller and less luminous than the Sun

Image: X/@Trent70044

As per NASA, the planet is too compact to be made mostly of hydrogen gas, but may not be compact enough to be a rocky super-Earth

Image: X/@ln_fohub

Researchers say it may be made mostly of an exotic form of water, an "ice" hardened by pressure rather than temperature

Image: X/@FOL_65

This is the reason why Gliese 436 b is famously known as the planet with burning ice

Image: X?@Trent70044

The planet completes one full orbit around its parent star in just a little over two days

Image: NASA

Since it is too close to its sun, the planet's temperatures exceeds 526 degrees Celsius

Image: Pixabay

Another weird fact about Gliese 436 b is that it has more than 7,000 times less methane than it should

Image: Unsplash

It has a surprising abundance of carbon monoxide molecules - a strange occurrence given the temperature of the planet

Image: Unsplash

Image: NASA

Check More Stories

 ndtv.com