2. The Planet of Burning Ice

2. The Planet of Burning Ice

Gliese 436 b is another murderous planet under the Gliese catalogue. It about 20 times bigger that Earth, and is roughly the size of Neptune. The planet is 4.3 million miles away from its host star, in comparison to Earth which is 93 million miles from Sun. The temperature on the planet is 822°F, and its surface is covered with burning ice. The immense gravitational force of the planet keeps the water molecules too densely packed to evaporate, and thus, prevents them from escaping the planet. The burning ice is called ice-ten, with reference to ice-ten from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.