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Time of India
19-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory spots young exoplanet rapidly shrinking in rare cosmic meltdown 330 light-years away
Source: NASA In a distant corner of the universe, astronomers have identified a dramatic planetary event unfolding in real time. A young exoplanet , named TOI 1227 b, located about 330 light-years from Earth, is undergoing rapid atmospheric loss. Despite being just 8 million years old—a cosmic infant compared to Earth's 4.5 billion years—this gas planet is already showing signs of decay. Caught in a dangerously close orbit around a volatile red dwarf star, TOI 1227 b is being bombarded by powerful X-ray radiation that is stripping away its massive atmosphere. This rare glimpse into planetary evolution offers critical insights into the formation and fate of young exoplanets. NASA observes young exoplanet TOI 1227 b under severe atmospheric loss TOI 1227 b is not just young—it's also in a perilous position. Unlike Earth, which orbits the Sun at a safe distance, this exoplanet is located exceptionally close to its parent star, known as TOI 1227. Although the red dwarf is relatively small and cool compared to the Sun, it emits intense X-ray radiation, making it a hazardous environment for any planet caught nearby. This intense energy is bombarding TOI 1227 b relentlessly, causing it to shed its thick, gaseous shell at an alarming rate. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory , astronomers discovered that the host star's radiation is striking the planet with devastating effect. According to their findings, the planet is losing an atmosphere equivalent to Earth's every 200 years. Initially, TOI 1227 b had a size comparable to Jupiter, but scientists believe its mass is closer to Neptune's, suggesting the planet is inflated due to internal heat and external radiation. However, this bloated size is not expected to last—its atmosphere is evaporating quickly. No signs of habitability found on young exoplanet TOI 1227 b Researchers have ruled out the possibility of life or habitability on TOI 1227 b. The planet's proximity to the red dwarf means surface temperatures are extremely high, and water cannot exist in any stable form. With radiation constantly bombarding the planet, any life-supporting conditions are quickly destroyed. Over time, the exoplanet could shrink to just one-tenth of its original size, and may lose as much as two Earth masses of gas within the next billion years. To determine TOI 1227 b's age, scientists used stellar motion data, comparing the movement of the star system to known stellar age groups. They also examined the brightness and temperature profiles of the star to estimate its developmental stage. Among all exoplanets known to be under 50 million years old, TOI 1227 b stands out. It has the longest orbital year and is tethered to one of the smallest stars ever associated with a gas giant. NASA's Chandra mission helps unveil early planetary evolution in TOI 1227 b The discovery was led by Attila Varga of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), with contributions from scientists in Germany and the United States. Their research, which sheds new light on how young planets evolve and erode, is set to be published in The Astrophysical Journal. The Chandra X-ray Observatory, a flagship NASA mission operated by the Marshall Space Flight Center and managed in Massachusetts, played a crucial role in these observations. TOI 1227 b provides scientists with a rare opportunity to witness a planet in its early evolutionary stages, particularly one undergoing atmospheric loss due to stellar radiation. Understanding such transformations helps refine models of planetary formation, migration, and survival, especially in high-radiation environments near red dwarfs. As astronomers continue to track the evaporation of TOI 1227 b, this case could unlock answers to how common such scenarios are across the Milky Way. Also Read | Solar Eclipse August 2 will bring 6 minutes of total darkness; Check, date, time, and visibility areas for a once-in-100-years phenomenon
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Exoplanet is shrinking before the X-ray eyes of NASA's Chandra spacecraft: 'The future for this baby planet doesn't look great'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray spacecraft, astronomers have witnessed a distant, Jupiter-size world "shrinking" as its host star bombards it with heavy radiation. The extrasolar planet, or "exoplanet," is named TOI 1227 b and is a cosmic baby at just 8 million years old (remember, Earth is around 4.5 billion years old). And, incredibly, the world orbits its star at a distance of just 8.2 million miles, a fraction of the distance between the sun and Mercury, with a year that lasts just 28 days. This proximity means the star, named TOI 1227 and located around 330 light-years away, is blasting the planet with powerful X-rays. This radiation is stripping the exoplanet's atmosphere away; in fact, the atmosphere of TOI 1227 b is likely to be completely gone in around 1 billion years. This will reduce the exoplanet to nothing more than a small, rocky and barren core. The team behind this research estimates TOI 1227 b will have ultimately lost the equivalent of two Earths' worth of mass by the conclusion of its transformation. As of now, the world has a mass around 17 times that of Earth's. "It's almost unfathomable to imagine what is happening to this planet," Attila Varga, study team leader and a researcher at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), said in a statement. "The planet's atmosphere simply cannot withstand the high X-ray dose it's receiving from its star." While this exoplanet's parent star is less massive than the sun (with about 10% the mass of our star) and is cooler and fainter in optical light, it is actually brighter than our star in X-rays. "A crucial part of understanding planets outside our solar system is to account for high-energy radiation like X-rays that they're receiving," team member and RIT scientist Joel Kastner said in the statement. "We think this planet is puffed up, or inflated, in large part as a result of the ongoing assault of X-rays from the star." The team used Chandra to determine just how much X-ray radiation is roasting TOI 1227 b. The researchers then used computer modeling to assess the impact of this radiation on the exoplanet and its atmosphere. This revealed that roughly every two centuries, the world loses the equivalent of Earth's entire atmosphere from its own atmosphere. "The future for this baby planet doesn't look great," Alexander Binks, a study team member and researcher at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, said in the statement. "From here, TOI 1227 b may shrink to about a tenth of its current size and will lose more than 10 percent of its weight." Related Stories: — The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its 1st exoplanet and snapped its picture (image) — Astronomers discover origins of mysterious double hot Jupiter exoplanets: 'It is a dance of sorts' — NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft and citizen scientists discover a cool new alien world The researchers estimated the age of TOI 1227 b using estimates of its host star's velocity through space and comparing them with the speed of nearby stellar populations with known ages. The team also compared the surface brightness of TOI 1227 with models of stellar evolution. TOI 1227 b stands out from other exoplanets aged less than 50 million years because, among the set, it seems to have the longest year and a host star with the lowest mass. The team's research has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal and appears as a preprint on the repository site arXiv. Solve the daily Crossword
India Today
18-07-2025
- Science
- India Today
Baby planet discovered by Nasa is shrinking. Its atmosphere is melting
Astronomers have witnessed a rare cosmic transformation — a young exoplanet shrinking before our to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the planet TOI 1227 b is losing its thick atmosphere under relentless bombardment from its parent star's intense about 330 light-years from Earth, TOI 1227 b orbits a red dwarf star in extremely close proximity — just one-fifth the distance that Mercury orbits the Sun. This tight orbit makes it especially vulnerable to the star's high-energy Estimated to be just 8 million years old, TOI 1227 b is among the youngest exoplanets ever observed, a true "baby" compared to Earth's 5-billion-year-old age.'This planet's atmosphere simply cannot survive the X-ray blast from its star,' said Attila Varga, lead author and Ph.D. student at the Rochester Institute of team found that TOI 1227 b is losing its atmosphere so rapidly that it could shed the equivalent of nearly two Earth masses within the next billion years — reducing in size and potentially evolving into a barren, rocky TOI 1227 b has a mass similar to Neptune but is three times larger in diameter, giving it a puffed-up, Jupiter-like appearance. Researchers believe this inflation is caused by the continuous X-ray exposure from its red dwarf host, TOI 1227, which is small in size but emits X-rays more intensely than our planet is estimated to lose one Earth atmosphere's worth of mass every 200 say the extreme conditions make the planet inhospitable to life, now or ever, as it lies far from the "habitable zone" where liquid water could study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, offers valuable insights into how harsh stellar environments shape the evolution of young exoplanets and may help explain how some planets lose their atmospheres early in life.- EndsTrending Reel
