Life beyond our galaxy. Will we ever move? One piece of information that is rarely exposed in popular culture is the existence of exoplanets in different galaxies far from the Milky Way. Currently, it is estimated that there are around 4,852 exoplanets in 3,586 systems, 800 of which have more than one planet, but these numbers are constantly growing.
Recently, one of these exoplanets caught the attention of NASA scientists for its particular formation and colors that are similar to Earth. This is HD 189733b.
A new planet Earth?
HD 189733b is much larger and hotter than Earth; It is about the size of Jupiter and orbits its host star in just 2.2 Earth days. That orbit is so close that the exoplanet is likely tidally locked, always showing a face to its star, just as the moon always shows a face (the near side) to Earth, they note. specialized sites.
This exoplanet was discovered in 2005, and scientists discovered its color in 2013 using the Hubble Space Telescope. POT and other instruments.
The mystery behind its colors
“The cobalt blue color does not come from the reflection of a tropical ocean, as on Earth, but from a hazy, fiery atmosphere containing high clouds mixed with silicate particles,” NASA officials wrote in a statement.
There may be many ocean-free blue planets out there. In fact, scientists know of two in Earth’s own solar system: Uranus and Neptune. The upper atmospheres of these two “ice giants” contain methane, which reflects the blue wavelengths of sunlight back into space.
Therefore, the answer regarding the similarity of the Earth is simple coincidence.
Why do they classify it as a “nightmare?”
This is very curious, but in 2016, for Halloween, the space agency organized a special on its website where it exposed “the Galaxy of Horrors”, naming HD 189733b because of its appearance. “Howling winds send storm glass sideways at 5,400 mph (2 km/s), whipping everything into a sickening spiral. “It’s death by a million cuts on this slasher planet!” said the article of the US agency.
Eye! This space phenomenon is located 63 light years away.