Mini-Neptune Losing Gas (VIDEO)
Caption
An artistic animation of the mini-Neptune TOI 560.01, located 103 light-years away in the Hydra constellation. Astronomers have discovered that the mostly rocky planet is losing its puffed-up atmosphere and that the gas is unexpectedly flowing toward the star. The planet orbits its star at a distance of 0.06 astronomical unit, or AU (an astronomical unit is the distance between Earth and our Sun), and it is tidally locked, meaning that one side always faces the star. The atmosphere is escaping due to radiation from the star, which is stripping the gases away. The scientists say that this process could transform planets like TOI 560.01 into a new class of planets called super-Earths after a few hundred million years.
Credit
W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
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