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hifiveghost
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28 Oct 2018, 5:38 pm

What is your favorite celestial body in the universe?

Within our solar system, I like Triton (satellite of Neptune; I also like Neptune) because it is colder than Pluto even though it is closer to the sun (34 K vs 50.5 K). I also like how it rains diamonds (scientists think) on Neptune (as well as Uranus).

Outside of the solar system, I like PSO J318.5-22 (rogue planet) because it does not orbit a star, is six times more massive than Jupiter, and is heated by internal radiation. I also find it interesting because rogue planets likely outnumber stars in our galaxy. Rogue planets just intrigue me!



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28 Oct 2018, 5:49 pm

Jupiter. I was just the right age to be dazzled by the Voyager fly-pasts. I have a very clear memory of an issue of National Geographic with a little flick-book animation in the corner of the pages, showing Jupiter's bands of cloud swirling around. It got very dog-eared, as I was so fascinated by seeing the atmosphere of a real alien world in motion for the first time.

I'm pretty sure that this is the animation...


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naturalplastic
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29 Oct 2018, 11:17 am

I like brown dwarves. Overgrown gas giant planets that (like the gas giants) heat themselves from within via chemical reactions (but even more so than the gas giants), but are too small to be massive enough to be able to flick on the light switch and to have actual thermonuclear fusion and become stars. Kinda intermediate between large planets and small stars.

Rogue planets intrigue me too. And the two groups often overlap (like the one mentioned by the OP, its both a rogue planet and probably a brown dwarf).



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13 Nov 2018, 6:19 pm

Earth. I like biospheres, and I like even more a biosphere that lets me survive.

Joint second goes to Enceladus and Europa, because they might have life too, if they do, it likely has an origin independent of ours, and it's at least possible for probes to get there within my lifetime.



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20 Dec 2018, 3:30 am

The black hole that’s sucking us all in. ;)

Seriously, I find supermassive black holes extremely interesting.



hale_bopp
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20 Dec 2018, 3:33 am

naturalplastic wrote:
Rogue planets intrigue me too. And the two groups often overlap (like the one mentioned by the OP, its both a rogue planet and probably a brown dwarf).


I agree. Also, planets with eccentric orbits are definitely at the top of my planet list.

Did you hear about the planet that potentially had poisionous clouds and rained something like glass shards? That was cool.

We were lucky enough to have a comet for a while in my early 20s, as well.



naturalplastic
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20 Dec 2018, 5:17 am

hale_bopp wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
Rogue planets intrigue me too. And the two groups often overlap (like the one mentioned by the OP, its both a rogue planet and probably a brown dwarf).


I agree. Also, planets with eccentric orbits are definitely at the top of my planet list.

Did you hear about the planet that potentially had poisionous clouds and rained something like glass shards? That was cool.

We were lucky enough to have a comet for a while in my early 20s, as well.


I heard about an exoplanet that had winds that blow four thousand mph (how wind can blow faster than the speed of sound I do not know), which I think is the same place you're talking about. And it rained glass shards too. Makes the lifeless Moon look like a resort.



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20 Dec 2018, 6:53 am

The moon; very close second, Venus.



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20 Dec 2018, 7:16 am

I have a soft spot for Saturn! Would love to have a closer look. To be honest I need to brush up and update my knowledge of our solar system.

Then of course, poor Pluto, left in the cold and dark when it's planethoid became disputed. I like defending the underdog...


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23 Dec 2018, 1:52 am

Pluto has a heart on it. The cool things we discover with better technology. Out of all the planets, Uranus is my favourite, due to its tipped over axis.