With Halloween just around the corner, NASA has released its latest Galaxy of Horrors posters. Styled like horror film advertisements from the 1950s, they feature different exoplanets—planets that orbit stars other than the sun—and highlight what exactly makes them so frightening.

“People are often most interested in finding exoplanets that could resemble Earth or potentially support life as we know it,” Thalia Rivera, an outreach specialist at JPL who led the development of the Galaxy of Horrors posters, said in the same statement.

“But there are so many other amazing, mystifying planets out there that are completely unlike Earth and that show us the huge variety of ways planets can form and evolve,” Rivera added. “My favorite thing about exoplanets is how extreme they can get!”

Rains of Terror: This far-off blue planet may look like a friendly haven – but don’t be deceived! Weather here is deadly. The planet’s cobalt blue color comes from a hazy, blow-torched atmosphere containing clouds laced with glass. Howling winds send the storming glass sideways at 5,400 mph (2km/s), whipping all in a sickening spiral. It’s death by a million cuts on this slasher planet! (NASA-JPL/Caltech) Continue reading »