February 01, 2025
Researchers have found that an exoplanet located at a distance of 160 light years from Earth has a long gas tail similar to that of a comet. According to researchers, the exoplanet called WASP-69 b has a 5,63,000km-long tail, which has developed because of the loss of the planet’s atmosphere. Researchers believe that WASP-69 b’s host star has been severely heating the exoplanet, leading to the shedding of its atmosphere, which mainly comprises helium and hydrogen. The exoplanet, believed to be approximately 7 billion years old, has been shedding around 2,00,000 tonnes of atmosphere every second. According to findings by researchers, the stellar wind ejected from WASP-69 b’s host star gives the outflowing gases a tail-like shape.
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Image Source: science.nasa.gov
