Science doesn’t have the explanation for everything that happens around us. There are several things that are out of our reach, exoplanets are few such things. The universe is extremely large and we do not know the mystery behind its creation. We also do not know when it was created, how the planets and solar-systems formed and what is beyond the universe. Several alien planets have been already found by scientists, space observatories and space observers. Few of the planets are against the current scientific theories we know and hence are mysteriously unknown to the space scientists.
Here are the 10 mysterious planets in the universe with little to no scientific explanations:
10 At War Siblings (Kepler-36b and 36c)
The planets Kepler-36b and Kepler-36c are two mysterious planets whose existence is against the current planetary theories and planet formation theories. The two planets orbit the same host star but they come extremely close to each other every 97 days. The two planets are a rare find and they are the first of their kind. It is surprising to know that they have almost the same orbit negating the current planet formation theories. At some points, the two planets come as close as 1,900,000 km giving them planet skies from science fiction movies. Literally, the two planets are at war.
9. Planet with Retrograde Orbit (WASP-17b)
This is another extremely mysterious and rare planet. The giant and puffy planet is 1,000 light years away from Earth. The WASP-17b is first planet ever found to have an orbital rotation opposite to its host star. The discovery of this planet has been a challenge against the traditional planetary formation theory. After its discovery on 11th August 2009, scientists have been keeping a close watch on this planet. On 3 December 2013, scientists observing the planet through the Hubble Space Telescope have found water on its atmosphere. There are several theories to solve the retrograde orbit of the WASP-17b, but none of them are satisfactory.
8. The Doomed Planet (Kepler-432b)
An extremely massive and rare planet was found in 2015. The planet is named as Kepler-432b and similar in size to Jupiter. This planet is rare and mysterious because it is a doomed planet. The host star of this planet will consume the planet in another 200 million years. The planet has extreme weather variations which no one can imagine. According to researchers, the close-in gas-giant planet orbiting a star has a radius that is ‘quickly’ increasing. At one point, the planet will crash into the star bursting into thin air. The massive planet mainly has the composition of hydrogen and helium.
7. The Darkest Planet (TrES-2b)
The mysteriously coal-black planet is 750 light years away from us. The giant Jupiter size exoplanet was first detected by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. This is the darkest planet ever known to us. Space scientists have found that the planet only reflects 1 percent of the sunlight falling on it. No other planet in the universe is as dark as TrES-2b. Nothing much is known about how this planet absorbs so much light. The alien planet is darker than the darkest coal on Earth. The planet is a mystery and so much is there which science can’t explain.
6. Lava Planet (55 Cancri e)
The most mysterious planet ever discovered by NASA is 55 Cancri e. What is the mystery? First the planet was thought to be a water world and then as a planet of diamond/graphite. Now, the researchers think that the alien world is covered with lava. This planet is directly out of the movie Star Wars. It is only 40 light years away from Earth. The planet’s atmosphere is hellish because of the planet’s close proximity to its parent star. It is 100 times closer to its sun in comparison to Earth. One of its sides soars with a temperature of 2500°C and the other dark side reaches around 1100°C.
5. The Evaporating Planet (KELT-9b)
Have you heard of any planet that is evaporating? It came as a surprise to many scientists that such a mysterious planet exist in our universe. The planet is so hot that it is getting vaporized slowly by its own star. The planet has a day time temperature of 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s star KELT-9 is even hotter. KELT-9b is hotter than most other stars found in the universe. There are other similar stars that are evaporating such as the KIC 12557548 b and HD 209458b. KELT-9b is the most extreme case of evaporation. One scientist says that “KELT-9 radiates so much ultraviolet radiation that it may completely evaporate the planet”.
4. Raining Glass Planet (HD 189773b)
A weird-looking Earth like blue planet known as HD 189773b has a weird atmosphere. It is not at all comparable to Earth. The hot planet is the first discovery where color of the planet is correctly detected. The planet’s atmosphere is gaseous, extremely hot (2,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and mysteriously rains molten glass sideways with powerful wind speeds of 4,500 mph. The deep blue planet is extremely killer with its deadly atmosphere.
3. The Loneliest Planets (J2126) or (PSO J318.5-22)
All planets in a solar system revolve around its parent star through the star’s gravitational force. A planet by name J2126 was found in 2008 which was extremely away from its dwarf star TYC 9486-927-1. The distance between the star and the planet is so far that it is unbelievable, making it the loneliest planet in our universe. The massive distance between the star and planet is 1 trillion kilometers. This is the largest solar system ever discovered. Due to the distance between the planet and its star, the planet is a free-floating planet in the universe. The planet is 12 times bigger than Jupiter. The huge gaseous planet is a mystery due to the long distance relationship with its star.
An another lonely planet, something that is new to scientists is the planet by name PSO J318.5-22. Since the similarity with J2126, we have this inclusion. Nothing much is known about its creation and it could be a possible dwarf star.
2. The Wobbly Planet (Kepler-413b)
NASA’s Kepler space telescope found a strange planet that is unstable and unsteady. The distant world is extremely far from us, 2,300 light-years away. The wobbly planet belongs to the constellation Cygnus. It was first found by Kepler and hence got its name as Kepler-413b. Kepler telescope detects planets through dips in brightness when the planet transit. As a general theory of exoplanets, these drifting happens in a regular pattern. But, Kepler-413b has a strange drifting pattern with continuous transit or no transit. What is causing such strange motions is a mystery which would be difficult to solve due to the crazy distance of the planet.
1. Water Planet (GJ1214b)
The weirdest planet ever found in our universe is a planet known as “GJ1214b” which has been nicked named as the “water world”. This strange planet is covered entirely by water or ocean. The peculiarity of the planet is that it is entirely made of water with little to no solid mass. According to speculations and research the atmosphere of this planet might be a thick layer of steam and water vapor. After its discovery in 2009, another planet known as Kepler-22b is a similar candidate. The worlds of such ocean planets are something which we can’t imagine. It could host alien substances like hot ice or superfluids water which are new to us.