THE SIGHTS OF SPACE: A Voyage to Spectacular Alien Worlds

This is the NAVIS III, a fictional spacecraft capable of transporting individuals to any location within the Milky Way galaxy. Its inaugural journey will provide a tour of the most extreme planets that have been discovered thus far. From worlds of burning ice to planets hotter than stars with metal clouds, and even zombie worlds formed from the remnants of deceased planets, there are countless unique destinations awaiting exploration within our galaxy.

These diverse worlds offer a glimpse into the boundless creativity of nature and will help chart a course for future explorers who may one day venture to these unimaginable landscapes. As we embark on our voyage to new worlds, our first destination is the nearest alien planet, located 40 trillion kilometers away.

However, the path to this cosmic neighbor is filled with its own peculiar sights, including the Kuiper belt - a vast ring of frozen debris surrounding our solar system. Within this belt reside numerous dwarf planets, such as Haumea, a peculiar egg-shaped world with two moons and an icy ring. Haumea is just one of many eccentric mini-worlds within the Kuiper belt, including Makemake and Gonggong. These dwarf planets, along with potentially thousands more, could one day serve as a base for interstellar travelers. Ultimately, as we expand beyond our solar system, the closest star system, Alpha Centauri, will be waiting, with its trio of stars including the red dwarf Proxima Centauri orbiting around two Sun-like stars, Alpha Centauri A and B.

In the extreme heat, heavy metals are lofted into the atmosphere from the planet's interior.

As violent winds blow these metals to the night-facing side, something incredible happens:

in this cooler atmosphere, particles of iron, magnesium, and other heavy elements condense into clouds made of metal.

Then, we come to the first two exoplanets ever discovered,

a pair of zombie super-Earths known as Poltergeist

and Phobetor, Each more than triple the mass of the Earth.

Soaked in the strobing of light of their dead stars, the view from these planets would be utterly alien.

Huge metallic dust storms could rage from one hemisphere to the other,

unleashing a torrential rain of liquid gemstones.

And this isn't the only planet of riches out there.

21 light-years from Earth, this supermassive rocky planet could be the ultimate piece of cosmic bling.

High concentrations of aluminum and calcium pressurize under its extreme atmosphere,

possibly forming vast deposits of rubies and sapphires.

And scientists believe, there could even be planets of pure diamond out here.

With its equal ratio of carbon to oxygen, WASP-12B could potentially hold a diamond core.

But even if it does you'd never see it from space.

It's shrouded in dark clouds of methane and carbon monoxide that trap 94% of light,

making it darker than black coal.

And its proximity to its star is causing gravity to stretch the planet into the shape of an egg.

But this diamond space egg has a death sentence: Its star's intense gravity is pulling it towards a fiery extinction,

giving it only three million years to live.

But for some worlds, death is not the end of the story:

When massive stars go supernova, the ensuing blast wipes out any planets in the vicinity.

But the death of one world can sometimes lead to the birth of another.

In a wake of this explosion, certain stars collapse into rapidly spinning cores, called pulsars,

sucking up huge amounts of stellar debris.

But what's left on the outer edge can cool and condense,

until finally, a new world is formed:

A zombie planet, build from the ashes of the dead.

Worlds like this are exceedingly rare. But 2300 lights years away, this billion-year-old pulsar

is the keeper of not one but three potential zombie planets