The hottest planet. Hell climate: The hottest planet

Hell beyond Earth: very hot, very dark giant HD 149026b. Artist's eye

Detailed temperature map on the gas giant HD 189733b: the hottest place is offset from the place where the rays of the local sun fall vertically

HD 189733b through the eyes of an artist. The temperature peak corresponds to the red spot in the atmosphere

Research combines two more facts. First, both of them were carried out using the Spitzer infrared orbiting telescope. Secondly, both studied objects belong to the class of "Hot Jupiters" - gas giants, whose orbits lie in close proximity to hot stars.

Hot giant HD 149026b was discovered by the group of Professor Joseph Harrington (Joseph Harrington) in the constellation Hercules, at a distance of 279 light-years from us. The temperature on the planet's surface reaches a record 2040C - it is only slightly hotter than some small stars. HD 149026b belongs to the number of transit planets - moving in orbit, it periodically passes between the parent star and the earth observer. Of the more than 200 extrasolar planets discovered to date, there are only 17 in transit. The difference between the amount of infrared radiation coming from the star in phases when HD 149026b is in front of it and behind it, allowed scientists to calculate the planet's own radiation and with a high degree of accuracy determine its temperature.

The climate here is really hellish: HD 149026b is not only colossally hot, but also dark. The planet practically does not reflect the light emitted by the parent star. However, due to the high temperature, it should glow a little in the visible range - like a slightly smoldering charcoal. The reasons why the planet became so hot remain unclear. The gas giant is 25 times closer to its sun than the Earth, and yet the temperature on its surface is anomalously high. Probably, the answer lies in the unusual composition of this celestial body.

HD 149026b contains a very large amount of heavy elements - heavier than hydrogen and helium. Judging by the data obtained, there are more such substances in it than in all bodies. solar system combined (if you do not take into account the Sun itself). A significant part of heavy substances is concentrated in the solid core of the planet, the mass of which is estimated at 70-90 Earth. In general, HD 149026b is not only an anomalously hot, but also an anomalously dense gas giant. Scientists suggest that some unknown component is present in its atmosphere, actively absorbing the radiation of the mother star and additionally warming up the planet. A dense layer of clouds of gaseous titanium oxide could act as such an additive, but at the recorded temperatures, all titanium should condense and fall out of the atmosphere in the form of liquid precipitation.

Surely, many people know from school that eight planets revolve around the heavenly body, one of which is the hottest planet in the solar system. And this is not Mercury at all, located close to the Sun. The hottest planet is Venus, which is located second from our heavenly body.

What is the temperature on Venus?

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system due to its surface temperature, which can range from 460 to 480 degrees. On average, it turns out that the temperature on this planet is 475 degrees (enough to easily melt lead or tin). Moreover, on Mercury, which is closer to the celestial body, the average temperature is only 426 degrees. Since there is no atmosphere on the surface of this planet, the temperature regime there can deviate by hundreds of degrees.

To maintain a more or less average temperature on the surface of Venus allows carbon dioxide. The dense atmosphere of the planet allows the surface temperature to be five hundred degrees higher than if such an atmosphere was absent.

How was Venus discovered?

In ancient times, people thought that this planet was two stars that appeared in the morning and in the evening. However, then it became clear that it is one planet revolving around our heavenly body. When the Sun was not yet so bright, Venus was not too hot either. It even had oceans of liquid. However, the life-giving moisture evaporated, contributing to the greenhouse effect. This is now facilitated by solar radiation and carbon dioxide. At present, Venus is very strongly overheated due to this effect, and the process of heating continues. Today, everyone knows that there is no life on the planet, because in the absence of oxygen it is impossible to live.

What does the name of the planet mean?

This planet was named after the ancient Roman goddess of love. Quite curious is the fact that this is the only planet that has been named female name. Perhaps Venus was named so because it shone much brighter than all the planets known to astronomers at that time. Translated from Latin, the name "Venus" means "Evening Star" or "Lucifer" (Satan in Christianity).

What are the features of the planet?

The second planet Venus in terms of location to the Sun is quite a bit smaller than our planet Earth. Because of the almost identical size, density, mass and composition, these planets are even called twins. However, this is where the similarity ends.

The hottest planet in the solar system is one hundred and eight million kilometers from the sun. There are no satellites around it. A day here lasts approximately 243 Earth days. For 225 such days, the planet makes a revolution around the heavenly body. The surface of Venus is hard, a large number craters and volcanic landscapes. It rotates in the opposite direction, from which it follows that the sunrise occurs in the west, and the sunset in the east.

The atmosphere of Venus is very heavy and even "hellish". The pressure on it exceeds ninety times the pressure present on Earth. The surface of Venus does not have any liquid, but everything is explained by the highest temperature, which causes the process of boiling and evaporation. The planet also has mountain ranges and valleys, which, according to scientists, were formed when hot materials were raised to the surface, which led to surface deformation.

Planet exploration

Since Venus is a hot planet, it may be thought that it is almost impossible to explore it. However, scientists managed to obtain information about the planet - more than forty spacecraft explored Venus. Interesting pictures managed to "get" the Soviet spacecraft, which had the same name with the planet. The device "Venera13" was able to stay on the planet for 127 minutes (this was in 1981). It was used to make color images of the surface of Venus.

All devices that were sent to study Venus could stay on the surface for no more than two hours. After this time, the probes were destroyed by the highest temperature. The idea of ​​98 percent of the surface of Venus was obtained in the nineties. But even today, the planet creates considerable interest for scientists who continue to explore large objects in the solar system.

Unfortunately, intrigue, at least at the beginning of the article, will not work. The fact that the hottest planet is Mercury was known even to repeaters of secondary schools in the Soviet Union, to say nothing of people living in the era of the developed Internet. IN Everyday life The sun, like its planets, is only interested in the upcoming weather the next day - whether to wear a warm jacket when going out, or in summer, as usual, the day will be clear and with little snow. Therefore, refreshing your memory with facts from the school astronomy course, as well as learning something new, is always interesting and useful.

Without going into the abstruse theory of the origin, expansion of the universe, big bang, scattering galaxies from each other, which only astronomers can imagine and realize, it is better to focus on the more studied celestial bodies closest to the Earth - the planets and the star holding them in its gravitational field - the native luminary of the Sun.

What scientists have managed to learn about the star and planets so far, based on astronomical observations that do not stand still, new research methods, data collected by man-made space bodies regularly launched into near-Earth space and to the limits of the system:

Since the flight of Yu.A. Gagarin and the following dozens of cosmonauts, not only astronomers, but also designers, geologists, even politicians and financiers began to look with genuine interest at the nearest planets of the so-called terrestrial group- Mercury, Venus and Mars, in terms of how to populate them, or at least start developing deposits of very useful minerals on them that were not harmful to the global economy. There are reasons for this, because these planets, like the Earth, are mostly composed of silicates and metals, including rare and expensive ones.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Mercury to terrestrial science today. One of the main reasons is precisely the fact that it is very close to the Sun, and it is impossible to fly to it, as in a joke, at night, when the sun is “sleeping”. But, of course, we managed to find out something:

But it is worth hoping that everything is still ahead, and research stations will be established on this planet closest to the Sun, which will allow us to learn much more about Mercury.

According to observations and calculations, the Sun is at the middle stage of the evolution of a star, while it is gradually becoming brighter, so Mercury is not in danger of losing its title for a long time - the hottest in the solar system, because the reserves for a thermonuclear reaction should be enough for an unimaginable, from a human point of view, period .

If you are going to take a vacation on another planet, then it is important to know about possible climatic changes :) But seriously, many people know that most planets in our solar system have extreme temperatures that are not suitable for a quiet life. But what exactly are the temperatures on the surface of these planets? Below I offer a small overview of the temperatures of the planets in the solar system.

Mercury

Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun, so one might assume that it is constantly burning like a furnace. However, while the temperature on Mercury can reach 427°C, it can also drop as low as -173°C. Mercury has such a large temperature difference because it has no atmosphere.

Venus

Venus, the second closest planet to the Sun, has the highest average temperatures of any planet in our solar system, regularly reaching 460°C. Venus is so hot because of its proximity to the Sun and its dense atmosphere. The atmosphere of Venus consists of dense clouds containing carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. This creates a strong greenhouse effect that traps the sun's heat in the atmosphere and turns the planet into a furnace.

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and so far the only planet known for its ability to support life. The average temperature on Earth is 7.2°C, but it varies by large deviations from this indicator. The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 70.7°C in Iran. The lowest temperature was , and it reaches -91.2°C.

Mars

Mars is cold because, firstly, it does not have an atmosphere to maintain high temperature, and secondly, it is relatively far from the Sun. Since Mars has an elliptical orbit (it gets much closer to the Sun at some points in its orbit), during the summer, its temperature can deviate up to 30°C from the norm in the northern and southern hemispheres. The minimum temperature on Mars is approximately -140°C and the highest is 20°C.

Jupiter

Jupiter doesn't have any solid surface, since it's a gas giant, so it doesn't have any surface temperature either. At the top of Jupiter's clouds, temperatures are around -145°C. As you descend closer to the center of the planet, the temperature increases. At a point where the atmospheric pressure is ten times that of Earth, the temperature is 21°C, which some scientists jokingly refer to as "room temperature." In the core of the planet, the temperature is much higher and reaches approximately 24,000°C. For comparison, it is worth noting that the core of Jupiter is hotter than the surface of the Sun.

Saturn

As with Jupiter, the temperature in Saturn's upper atmosphere remains very low - down to about -175°C - and increases as you get closer to the center of the planet (up to 11,700°C at the core). Saturn, in fact, generates heat itself. It generates 2.5 times more energy than it receives from the Sun.

Uranus

Uranus is the coldest planet with the lowest recorded temperature of -224°C. Although Uranus is far from the Sun, this is not the only reason for its low temperature. All other gas giants in our solar system emit more heat from their cores than they receive from the Sun. Uranus has a core with a temperature of approximately 4737°C, which is only one-fifth the temperature of Jupiter's core.

Neptune

With temperatures as low as -218°C in Neptune's upper atmosphere, this planet is one of the coldest in our solar system. Like the gas giants, Neptune has a much hotter core that is around 7000°C.

Below is a graph showing planetary temperatures in both Fahrenheit (°F) and Celsius (°C). Please note that Pluto has not been classified as a planet since 2006 (see below).

The planets differ in temperature as they have different structure and distance from the Sun. As the distance from the Sun increases, the temperature on the surface of planets tends to decrease. Internal and external factors are responsible for temperature fluctuations within the planets. The nature and composition of the atmosphere determines the amount of heat radiated and how much heat a planet can hold.

The hottest planets in the solar system:

Venus

Venus is the second and hottest among. Its temperature can reach 464º C. The high temperature is due to the dense atmosphere with thick cloud cover. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of Venus's atmospheric gases, acting like a blanket that keeps the planet from losing heat. Temperatures remain relatively regular with little fluctuation throughout the year. Unlike other planets, Venus' slight elliptical tilt does not affect temperatures, allowing them to remain stable.

Mercury

Mercury is the first and smallest planet in the solar system. Despite its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is the second hottest planet. Unlike Venus, it has no atmosphere, so it experiences varying temperatures throughout the day. Temperatures can drop as low as -93º C or rise to 427º C, with an average of around 167º C. Temperatures on Mercury are directly influenced by the Sun. Therefore, the side facing the star often becomes hot, and freezes on the shaded side. Astronomers believe that Mercury's polar regions are never heated by the Sun and may therefore be colder than Jupiter's cloud tops.

The coldest planets in the solar system:

Pluto

Pluto is dwarf planet, consisting of ice and stone. Originally thought to be the ninth planet, Pluto is the furthest from the sun and has the coldest temperatures, averaging around -225º C. Temperatures on Pluto depend on its proximity to the Sun: as the planet approaches the star, the temperature of the atmosphere becomes significantly warmer. The surface temperature is colder than the atmosphere due to the influence of methane, which creates a temperature inversion. Pressure waves in the atmosphere lower the temperature, making them colder than intended.

Neptune

Since Pluto's disqualification as a planet, Neptune has been considered the coldest planet in the solar system, with an average temperature of around -200º C. Neptune is the eighth planet in our system, made up primarily of hydrogen and helium. The planet experiences fluctuations in pressure and temperature depending on altitude. Due to its great distance from the Sun, the temperature on Neptune depends more on radiation from within the planet itself than on the star. Its 23.4º elliptical slope heats up the upstream side, raising the temperature by about 10º C, thus avoiding methane escape. In the interior of the planet, temperature fluctuations are also noticeable, which occur during movement around the Sun or under the influence of internal factors such as winds and pressure changes. do not have a defined surface temperature compared to .

The average temperature of all the planets in the solar system