Astronomers have taken a close look at one of the youngest known exoplanets and found it's on the receiving end of relentless brutality.
This giant baby world, TOI 1227b, is about the size of Jupiter but much lighter — more like a puffed-up version of Neptune, about 330 light-years from Earth. But the distant planet likely won't stay that size for long, because the star that birthed it is blasting it with X-rays, causing it to puff up and blow away.
The punishing radiation appears to be causing the planet to shed its atmosphere at a rate of at least 1 trillion grams per second, according to a new study involving NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. That's like a full Earth disappearing into space every two centuries.
Source: https://mashable.com
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