A Planet of Burning Ice

Do you remember Gliese? That hell-hole of a star that we visited earlier? We’re heading back to the same solar system for this one. As if one murderous planet wasn’t enough, Gliese supports a planet made almost entirely out of ice—at 439 degrees Celsius.

Gliese 436 b is, quite simply, a burning ice cube. Imagine Hoth from Star Wars—except that it’s on fire. The only reason this ice stays solid is because of the huge amount of water present on the planet; the gravity pulls it all in towards the core, keeping the water molecules so densely packed that they cannot evaporate.

Enjoyed this post? See more by Jeffrey Sieminski at http://listverse.com/2013/04/23/top-10-strangest-things-in-space/