Talk about a hot mess.
Scientists have uncovered a hellish “lava world” where temperatures soar to a blistering 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to melt rock into a churning ocean of magma and fill the air with the stench of rotten eggs.
The distant exoplanet, known as L 98–59 d, isn’t just scorching — it’s downright revolting.
Researchers say the alien world likely harbors a planet-wide ocean of molten rock, with sulfur bubbling up from deep within and spewing into the atmosphere as hydrogen sulfide — the same gas that gives rotten eggs their signature stink.
Yes, it’s as nasty as it sounds.
The fiery planet orbits a small red star roughly 35 light-years from Earth and is about 1.6 times the size of our home planet — but far less hospitable.
And according to scientists, it may represent a completely new class of planet.
“This discovery suggests that the categories astronomers currently use to describe small planets may be too simple,” lead author Dr. Harrison Nicholls said.
“While this molten planet is unlikely to support life, it reflects the wide diversity of the worlds which exist beyond the solar system. We may then ask: What other types of planet are waiting to be uncovered?”
Translation: space just got a whole lot weirder.
Until now, scientists tended to sort planets like this into neat boxes — either rocky worlds with thin atmospheres or water-rich planets covered in deep oceans.
But L 98–59 d doesn’t play by those rules.
Instead, it appears to be a simmering, sulfur-rich sphere with a deep magma ocean stretching thousands of miles below its surface — acting like a giant chemical storage tank.
“Our computer models simulate various planetary processes, effectively enabling us to turn back the clock and understand how this unusual rocky exoplanet, L 98–59 d, evolved,” said study co-author Dr. Richard Chatterjee.
“Hydrogen sulphide gas, responsible for the smell of rotten eggs, appears to play a starring role there. Further investigation may yet show that rather pungent planets are surprisingly common.”
In other words: this stinky space rock might not be alone.
As bizarre as it sounds, scientists say this inferno of a planet could actually offer clues about our own origins.
That’s because rocky planets — including Earth — are believed to have started as molten worlds before cooling over billions of years.
“What’s exciting is that we can use computer models to uncover the hidden interior of a planet we will never visit,” said co-author Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert.
“Although astronomers can only measure a planet’s size, mass and atmospheric composition from afar, this research shows that it is possible to reconstruct the deep past of these alien worlds – and discover types of planets with no equivalent in our own Solar System.”
The discovery, published in the journal “Nature Astronomy,” is the latest reminder that the universe is packed with planets that defy expectations — from water worlds to gas giants to, apparently, giant balls of molten stink.
And if this sulfur-soaked scorcher is any indication, scientists may have only scratched the surface.
Or, in this case, barely skimmed the lava.
As previously reported by The Post and in other space-related news, a new study suggests any alien civilizations out there were probably short-lived — and gone in a flash.
For decades, humans have scanned the stars for signs of intelligent life. And what do we get? Crickets.
This cosmic ghost-town scenario, better known as the Fermi Paradox, has baffled astronomers since physicist Enrico Fermi asked the big question in 1950: “Where is everybody?”
Now, a team at Sharif University of Technology thinks they might know why.
In their March 2026 paper, “Constraining the Lifespan of Intelligent Technological Civilization in the Galaxy,” physicists Sohrab Rahvar and Shahin Rouhani deliver the grim news: advanced civilizations may only survive for about 5,000 years.
Why? The usual suspects: giant asteroids, supervolcanoes, runaway climate change, nuclear war, pandemics — and even rogue AI.
In other words, the universe may be packed with planets … but civilizations? Not so much.
Humanity, take note: we may be playing a very short cosmic game.
Read the full article here
