Offbeat Worlds by Stephanie Brown

There was a study done recently by scientists at the University of Sydney on a theoretical concept called “Alcubierre warp drive”, which would “propel a ship at superluminal speeds by creating a bubble of negative energy around it, expanding space (and time) behind the ship while compressing space in front of it”.

The scientists determined that while the actually trip in warp drive could theoretically work, the consequences when warp drive was terminated upon arrival at the destination would be disastrous. Pretty much, anyone waiting to greet the newcomers would be burnt to a crisp.

Alcubierre warp drive would be gathering thousands of particles of objects intercepted during the faster-than-light travel, and once the ship came to a stop, all the particles captured would be released in extremely energetic outbursts. Anyone standing in the way would be blasted with gamma ray and high-energy particles and instantly destroyed.

However, this study was done with the assumption that the technology to create a bubble of negative energy around a ship would be possible, which at the current time there is nothing indicating that this technology will ever exist.

However it is still possible that other concepts and theories will evolve that could make warp speed possible. At least that is what we scifi geeks are hoping for.

As someone who in seventh grade did her science fair project on the Solar System (and got an A and a first place ribbon for, I might add), and for her Science and Culture class in college wrote a paper on how black holes are portrayed in film (both correctly and incorrectly), I have always had a huge interest in space.

So when I came across this article published by SyFy’s blog Blastr, I had to share it with you guys. Plus, this website is called Offbeat Worlds. What could be more offbeat than these odd worlds?

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Apparently there are nine planets that have been discovered recently that are so incredible they sound like they should only exist in science fiction. But they don’t! They are real planets.

DIAMOND PLANET

Apparently there is a planet out there in space that is made completely of diamond. Not just covered in diamond, but it one giant, solid diamond. And what’s even more amazing than that? This diamond planet is larger than Jupiter, the biggest planet in our Solar System! Holy crap!

PLANET TrES-2B: EVIL WORLD

Discovered by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, this planet is so dark that it hardly reflects any light. Scientists theorize that this may be because of a lack of reflective clouds and light-absorbent chemicals on the surface of the planet, but they have no definite reason to explain it. And the weirdest part about this planet is that it also glows red. Is it glowing because the planet’s gets heated to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit by the star it orbits? Or could it possibly be evil? O_o

KEPLER-16B: REAL LIFE TATOOINE

Like the famous desert planet in Star Wars, this planet is the only planet discovered that actually orbits around two suns. Double sunset for the win!

HAT-P-2B: SPEED RACER

This planet is on the move! At 8 times the weight of Jupiter, and only slighter later, this huge planet does not waste time when it travels around its star. It takes only 5.6 in Earth days for it to complete an orbit!

HAT-P-1B: BIG FLOATER

Another enormous planet, in fact it is 1.38 times the radius of Jupiter, this planet is so lacking in density that it could float on water.

UPSILON ANDROMEDAE B: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE

This planet hit the extremes in temperatures. One side is so boiling hot that it reaches a temperature of 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, and the other is so cold that it is frozen in solid ice at -148 degrees. The reason for this is because one side of the planet is constantly faces the star it orbits, and the cold side is constantly facing away. But the extreme temperatures isn’t even the strangest part: the hottest part of the planet is not the part that directly faces the star, but a part off to the side. Apparently, according to Blastr, this can be compared to sticking your hand in a fire and getting burned on the foot.

GLIESE 876 D: MUSTAFAR

The lava planet where the epic showdown between Obi-Wan and Anakin took place is actually a real planet! Gliese 876 d is a planet that is covered with oceans of lava, and apparently when the nearby star shines on it, it glows yellow. That’s a hot place!

KOI-55 B: LIGHTNING BUG

This planet, though smaller in size than our Earth, is holding the record for shortest year, or time to orbit around its star: 6 hours. It takes this planet only 6 hours to travel around its star!

WASP-17B: THE REBEL

This planet is the only known planet to spin in the reverse direction of its star. The only explanation scientists have for this odd phenomenon is that something huge passed by the planet and pulled its spin in the opposite direction.

To read more about this planets, you can read the original article here: “9 real-life planets so outrageous you’d swear they were sci-fi”

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