Massive 'Blue Marble' Planet: Winds Are Faster Than Bullet And Rains Made Of Molten Glass?

63 lightyears away from Earth in the constellation Vulpecula, a massive blue planet orbits very close to its host star. Some call it "The Blue Marble" for its distinctive bluish appearance. But officially, the planet is known as the HD 189733b.

Discovered in 2005, HD 189733b may seem to be an Earth-like oasis surrounded by dead, barren worlds in all directions if one happened to be traveling through that part of the cosmos. But that is exactly the polar opposite of what you would find if you cared to move closer to the planet.

For starters, HD 189733b is a gas giant like the outer planets of the Solar System (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune). That essentially means that you would have to park your intergalactic spaceship someplace else as there is no 'land' on HD 189733b for you to even stand on. In terms of size, the planet is comparable to Jupiter, which, as you know, could easily fit as many as 1,321 Earths inside it.

According to observers studying the planet, because of its proximity to the parent star, a year on HD 189733b is equivalent to just 2.5 Earth days. The extreme gravitational interaction with the host star has tidally locked the planet -- meaning its one side always faces the star while the other remains in perpetual darkness.

The winds in HD 189733b blows as fast as 5,400 miles per hour (8,700 km per hour). Just to put it in perspective, the AK-47 assault rifle fires the 7.62 x 39 mm cartridge at a muzzle velocity of slightly over 1,550 miles per hour. Finally, just in case you did not find that extreme enough, how about rains made of molten glass?

Yes, it rains molten glass on HD189733b that scientists believe is basically due to the close proximity between the gas giant and its Sun.

So, how can such a hostile world have any resemblance -- however superficial -- to Earth at all?

"The cobalt blue color comes not from the reflection of a tropical ocean, as on Earth, but rather a hazy, blow-torched atmosphere containing high clouds laced with silicate particles," NASA officials explain.