Humans have discovered another planet as blue as the earth, but that's where the doppelganger ends.The alien planet HD 189733b is a blue speck in the dark universe but is much bigger and hotter than earth.
The Scientific American reports that it bears resemblance to Jupiter in size and spins around a host star. The exoplanet has a relationship with the host star much like Earth's moon, locked tidally with a star, showing one face to it.
For those who think a blue planet will be conducive to life, the winds on HD 189733b hits at 5,400 mph, seven times the speed of sound. To make things even weirder, it rains molten glass in the planet instead of water.
In a report by Nature World News, NASA states, "To the human eye, this far-off planet looks bright blue. But any space traveler confusing it with the friendly skies of Earth would be badly mistaken. The weather on this world is deadly." .
Nasa took a dig at the exoplanet in a feature called "House of Horrors:Exoplanet edition" featured the exoplanet. It is is 63 light years away, according to reports. NASA reportedly has featured it in its image of the day.
Unlike Earth, the blue colour does not stem from the reflection of the ocean, but rather a "hazy, blow-torched atmosphere containing high clouds laced with silicate particles." added NASA.
HD 189733b was claimed to be discovered as early as 200. However, NASA's hubble found its color only in 2013. The report added that the color was identified by the reflection of light off the surface of the exoplanet.
The scientific American reports that there may be many blue planets out there, which do not have oceans. In fact, icy Uranus and neptune contain methane, which bounces off blue wavelengths of sunlight back into space.
