Imagine a world whipped by scorching winds, racing around its sun in just over two days. That's Gliese 436b , or Awohali as it was recently named, a captivating exoplanet that defies everything we know about our solar system. Buckle up, space adventurers, because we're diving into a world of hot ice, glass rain, and a tail that would make any comet jealous! A Distant Dance: Awohali's Stellar Address Awohali orbits the red dwarf star Gliese 436, located a staggering 31.9 light-years away in the constellation Leo . Light travels at an incredible speed, but even at that pace, it takes over 31 years to reach us from Awohali! To put that in perspective, the closest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri, is a mere 4.2 light-years away. This vast distance highlights the immense scale of our universe and the challenges of studying these distant worlds. A Speedy Orbit: A Close Embrace and Breakneck Speed Unlike our eight-planet solar system, Awohali is locked in a tight embrace wit...
“The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can't imagine”