TOP 10 EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

by Lauren Effron and Dave Mosher

Earth-like planets that alien life might call home have so far eluded discovery by nosy humans -- but not for long.

NASA's Kepler mission will scan thousands of distant stars for 4 years to track down Earth-sized bodies. Until the discoveries of these small objects begin to pour in, however, scientists continue to examine more than 340 super-sized extrasolar planets.

Roll through 10 of our favorites here, from hellish planets heftier than Jupiter to worlds astronomers have mapped the surface of from light-years away.

10. SWEEPS-10

This "hot Jupiter" of an exoplanet is called SWEEPS-10 for a reason.

The planet, roughly 1.6 times heftier than the gas giant Jupiter, circles the star it is gravitationally anchored to in just over 10 hours. In other words, one SWEEPS-10 year is 835 times shorter than Earth's... talk about how time flies.

Naturally, planets hugging so close to their star are some of the hottest out there. This object likely measures in at about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit on the cosmic thermometer.

Because it's so close, the planet's outer layers of gas are likely being blown into space by solar winds, as this artist's rendition implies.

Credit: NASA/ESA/A. Schaller - For a full-resolution image, click here.