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15 Places In The Solar System Where Your Death Would Be Most Horrific

Aaron Edwards
Updated March 26, 2025 2.0M views 15 items
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Vote up the solar system locales where you would most definitely not want to die.

It's easy to look out into the night sky and imagine the wonders and possibilities that await us among the stars. Tons of science fiction movies have been made about venturing into the cosmos, and as many of those movies show, space isn't exactly hospitable. In fact, our solar system is essentially a collection of endless misery. Which is too bad, because, like, you really want to go to Jupiter, right? Wouldn't that be cool? But pretty much everywhere that isn't Earth will destroy you; the deadliest places in the solar system are also the coolest.

In addition to lava-spewing volcanoes, ice volcanoes, and lakes of noxious gas, some planets have storms so strong they'll rip the flesh off your bones. The good news about all these places is they'd kill you really quickly. So, if you're in a morbid and cosmic mood, check out our list of the scariest, worst places to die in the solar system below. 

  • Crushed, Cremated, and Suffocated on Lovely Venus
    1

    Crushed, Cremated, and Suffocated on Lovely Venus

    Venus's thick, tempestuous atmosphere has turned the planet into a scorched wasteland, trapping extreme heat, pressure, and toxic gas. Surface temperatures exceed 880 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt lead, and the air pressure on Venus is 90 times that of Earth. There are also lava plains. So. Venus would crush, suffocate, and incinerate you simultaneously, in probably less than 10 seconds. And that's assuming the sulfuric acid in the atmosphere doesn't destroy you before you get to the planet's surface.  
    2,613 votes
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  • Ripped to Shreds by the Calamitous Winds of a Gas Giant
    2

    Ripped to Shreds by the Calamitous Winds of a Gas Giant

    Saturn sure is beautiful. The rings, the swirling colors, the light breeze. Yes, as it turns out, winds on Saturn gust at about 1,118 miles per hour. So, if you're scared of being crushed by the pressure within this gas giant, don't worry. You'll be ripped to shreds by the wind before you implode. 

    2,240 votes
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  • Minced in Searing Solar Winds En Route to the Heliosphere
    3

    Minced in Searing Solar Winds En Route to the Heliosphere

    A magnetic bubble called the Heliosphere surrounds the solar system, and contains the cosmic bodies and solar winds within. To get there, you need to pass through something called Termination Shock, which is the point at which solar wind blowing out from the sun encounters astral wind, and abruptly slows down. Previous to reaching the Termination Shock, solar winds travel at about 1,500,000 miles per hour. If you make it through winds strong enough to tear apart the primordial matter from which you formed, you'll suffocate and freeze in the nothingness of the Helisophere. 
    1,626 votes
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  • Incinerated and Obliterated by a 4.4 Nonillion Lb Sphere of Flaming Gas
    4

    Incinerated and Obliterated by a 4.4 Nonillion Lb Sphere of Flaming Gas

    The surface of the sun is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It is, after all, a gargantuan sphere of flaming gas that's about 1.3 million times the size of Earth. If you were to stand on the sun (which you can't, because it's a giant ball of gas, not a solid planet), the searing heat would instantly disintegrate you. Your particles would be scattered by solar winds. 
    1,421 votes
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  • Annihilated by the Molten Seas and Abusive Radtion of a Pizza Moon
    5

    Annihilated by the Molten Seas and Abusive Radtion of a Pizza Moon

    Io, one of Jupiter's moons, is the most vocanically active body in the solar system. What does that mean? Well, it's covered in molten lava, and enormous volcanoes are known to spew jets of searing magma nearly 200 miles high. There's so much lava, in fact, that most of the Io's surface is liquid. It's basically hell floating in space. In addition to the volcanic hellscape, Io boasts lakes of molten sulfur, intense radiation, and massive electric currents. Which makes it sound like a nuclear bomb made out of lava. Although NASA claims the planet looks like a pizza.  
    1,728 votes
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  • Frozen and Fried on a Space Potato
    6

    Frozen and Fried on a Space Potato

    Mercury has almost no atmosphere, meaning you'd suffocate on the vacuum-like planet . However, good news - you wouldn't live that long, thanks to the extreme temperatures. The side of Mercury facing the sun reaches 800 degrees Fahrenheit, while the side facing away from the sun gets pretty damn cold. As in, -290 degrees Fahrenheit. Basically Mercury treats your body like a fast food restaurant treats food - freeze it then fry it. Which is ironic, since Mercury kind of looks like a potato. 
    1,503 votes
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