Around 63 light years away form Earth sits the exoplanet HD 189733b. The planet has a mass of 1.13 Jupiter masses and orbits its star closer than Mercury orbits the Sun. Seen from afar, this planet is blue in color and has bands of white haze in its atmosphere that resemble clouds. Though HD 189733b might look similar to Earth, it is in no way habitable to life as we know it.
Although the planet is close to its star, it is actually a gas planet and can be classified under the category of “Hot Jupiters.” Since HD 189733b is so close to its star, its average temperature is roughly 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. Furthermore, the planet is gravitationally locked. Since one side of the planet is so much hotter than the other side, extreme winds whip across the planet at 4,000 miles per hour. These, however, are not even the planet’s deadliest attributes. Due to the immense pressure of the atmosphere, glass is created in the planet’s atmosphere. Due to the winds, glass constantly flies sideways around the planet at around 4,0000 miles per hour, which is faster than the speed of a bullet. To put it simply, the prospect of life on this planet is grim at best.
