India, Oct. 12 -- We've stumbled upon some strange things, amid our quest to know more and perhaps meet the neighbours. There are planets that look a lot like Earth but are blue from silica, where whipping winds send a rain of glass flying sideways; others with a core of carbon compressed into diamond; still others with so little density, one planet has been nicknamed the cotton-candy orb. l Dark as coal: TrES-2b is an orb so dark, it is said to be less reflective than coal. The reason: at an estimated 1200 degrees Celsius, it is too hot to support clouds. In addition, its atmosphere is heavy with chemicals that absorb light, such as vapourised potassium and sodium. Where Earth reflects about 37% of the light it receives from the Sun, and J...