It’s actually really easy to think of space as boring. The planets in our own solar system all seem to be empty rocks or balls of gas, and you find a whole lot of nothing before you get to the next star. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s most creative minds can’t get past populating the place with planets that look a whole lot like Earth (and specifically, parts of California) featuring monsters, rapey aliens or Muppets.

But real space is far, far stranger. You just have to know where to look to find things like …

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#6. A Planet Made of Diamond

#5. A Gigantic Rain Cloud

#4. Lightning!

#3. A Cold Star

#2. A Star 1,500 Times Bigger Than Our Sun

#1. The Gargantuan Blob from the Beginning of Time

Read more: The 6 Most Mind-Blowing Things Ever Discovered in Space