Charlie Stross on Blanets, Diamond Planets, and the Exoplanet Zoo
Blanets and Weird Worlds
Astronomer-novelist Charlie Stross surveys the strangest confirmed exoplanets — from Chthonian and Mega-Earths to pulsar planets, ultra-hot Neptunes, Hycean worlds, rogue planets, and blanets, planets that may form in the accretion disk around a supermassive black hole. Known exoplanets reached 6,445 by October 2026, and our solar system, he argues, is the odd one out.
At noon, it's hot enough to boil lead: it probably rains molten iron.