The Doomed Exoplanet That Is Being Devoured By Its Star WASP 12B (4K UHD)

1,400 light-years away in the constellation of Auriga is one of the strangest exoplanets discovered so far. The dark, egg-shaped world WASP-12 b. WASP-12 b is a class of exoplanet known as a ultra-hot Jupiter, which is a giant gas planet that is physically similar to Jupiter but has a scorching atmosphere due to an orbit that is extremely close to its host star, much closer than Mercury is to the Sun. In fact, this ultra-hot Jupiter is so close to its Sun-like star that it only takes the alien world roughly 26 Earth hours At only 3.4 million kilometres or 2.1 million miles away from its star, WASP-12 b is slowly being devoured. But even though it is being torn apart every second, it is still a large exoplanet at around 1.8 times the radius of Jupiter and 1.4 times Jupiter's mass. The features that make WASP-12 b really interesting, however, is that it is shaped like an egg and is one of the darkest worlds ever discovered. The unusual shape is due to its star's immense tidal forces distorting the giant gas planet and stripping away millions of tonnes of hot, puffy atmosphere. Recent studies have even suggested that in just 3 million years from now, WASP-12 b will be completely devoured, never to be observed again. Why WASP-12 b is so dark, however, isn't fully understood, but one reason could be that it cannot form light-reflecting clouds due to its extreme proximity to its host star. Instead, incoming light penetrates deep into the planet's atmosphere where it is absorbed by hydrogen atoms and converted into heat energy. Although the superheated gas giant is extremely dark, it probably wouldn't be pitch black because its scorching temperature would likely give it a dull glow, possibly similar to molten metal. The doomed planet is also tidally locked, which means the same side of the gas giant is always facing its star, making WASP-12 b's day side a scorching 2,500°C or 4,600°F, resulting in parts of its atmosphere behaving more like a low-mass star. The planet's cooler night side, on the other hand, is a different story, as previous Hubble observations have detected possible clouds, atmosphere haze, and even water vapour. WASP-12 b was discovered in April 2008 by the Super WASP Planetary Transit Survey via a very successful exoplanet hunting technique called the transit method. This type of detection is achieved when a planet passes directly between its star and the observer, blocking some of the star's light and so for a brief period of time dimming the star, confirming to the observer the presence of an exoplanet. From here, astronomers complete further studies that can reveal the mysterious planet's details, such as its size, mass, atmospheric composition, surface temperature, and much more. In three million years from now, this strange, ultra-hot Jupiter may have been torn apart and completely devoured by its host star, never to be seen again. But from a distance, the inquisitive minds of planet Earth will continue to study WASP-12 b and further investigate its extreme conditions.