10 Insane Planets You Won't Believe Exist
8. The One That's Hotter Than The Sun
Quick: how hot is the surface of the sun? If you said "hot," then congratulations! You get a crisp high five. Pun most definitely intended, because the surface of the sun is a crispy 10,000 °F. That's crazy, especially when you consider the highest verified recorded temperature in Earth's history was 129.9 °F. Surely no planet sees daily temperatures that exceed that of a star, right?
WRONG!
That's exactly what scientists theorize about Kepler-70b (or KOI-55 b). According to astronomers, this scorched, barren, rocky exoplanet sits comfortably around 12,000 °F, over 2,000 °F hotter than the sun. They theorize that it was much larger once, only to be thoroughly decimated by the expansion of its parent star, Kepler-70. As its parent star cooled, it expanded to become a red giant. Kepler-70 swallowed this former gas giant, searing away its atmosphere. All that remains are the charred vestiges of a once-larger planet, now smaller than Earth. Unlike Osiris, this WOULD classify as a chthonian planet.
Note: scientists are now questioning whether or not this planet actually exists. If it does, though, it's best we just steer clear. Sorry to disappoint. Some of you were surely about to email Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos about that summer vacation.