10 Insane Planets You Won't Believe Exist
2. The One That's Icy Hot
Gliese 436 b is just frustrating to think about.
First, it's incredibly hot. Sure, at over 800 °F, it's not as hot as some of the other planets on this list, but that's still too hot for this next statement to make sense; it's an ice planet. WHAT?!
It is completely understandable to be flabbergasted and confused right now. After all, it defies all knee-jerk logic. The planet is 800 °F, after all. That's nearly four times the boiling point of water, and more than double the melting point of ice, yet here we are. So what gives? Gravity is what gives.
The planet's gravity is so incredibly immense that all of its water vapor is compressed into ice... of sorts. It's not regular ice, but a variant called ice VII. This cubic crystalline ice forms under immense pressure; to be specific, the pressure would have be more than three gigapascals, the equivalent of 30,000 atmospheres. It's immensely hard, and not dependent on cold temperatures to stay solid. This ice is literally ON FIRE, but it can't melt. The sheer force of gravity won't let it.
Let's start a petition to rename this planet IcyHot. Or maybe Shoto, if you're a My Hero Academia fan.